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Buschwhacking now a Catch-22 for Nemechek

Car owner/driver finding sponsorship tough amid bigger programs

He's just returned home to Charlotte from Las Vegas, where the past two days were spent evaluating his self-owned Busch Series program. The car is fast; top-five easily, by his estimation.

But right now speed at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is irrelevant.

Without money, NEMCO Motorsports won't be in Vegas next month.

Not only is his car fast, it's also white as a sheet. He has an entire fleet of stark white cars, and no sponsorship backing with which to field them.

"I've never been in this position before, without a sponsor," Nemechek said. "We were the class of the field for years until all the Cup teams started their Busch divisions."

All independent Busch Series owners have experienced the Cup Series pinch. But for Nemechek, the Buschwhacking dynamic presents a Catch-22.

Yes, it hurts his personal program. But he is one. Sort of.

NEMCO Motorsports receives minimal assistance from Nemechek's Nextel Cup Series team, MB2 Motorsports, but for the most part is self-sustained, free of Cup affiliation.

He's on both sides. He must have a unique perspective on the issue.

"It's a two-part question: Yes Cup teams have taken funding, but once you have a program it's easier to develop it into more teams," Nemechek said. "That's why you see so many multi-car teams in Cup, and now in the Busch Series, also.

"It's also easier for a lot of sponsors in the Cup Series to get a piece of the Busch action. Plus, getting a Cup driver in the package you're getting the top pick."

No less than seven Cup Series drivers are scheduled to run the entire Busch Series slate. All are fully sponsored. There is an obvious reason why, Nemechek says.

"It's the situation I'm in," Nemechek explained. "You run up front, get tons of TV time and air time, and the sponsor gets the best of both worlds. They get a Cup driver at reduced cost, and the stands are packed on Saturday just like they are on Sunday. It's a great opportunity."

Nemechek says NASCAR's rulebook makes Buschwhacking a necessity.

"The Busch Series is actually in good shape, only because so many Cup teams have Busch programs now," he said. "NASCAR's got the rules so close with the Cup cars, that [Busch] is another tool for the Cup teams to use the information they receive, and take advantage of."

But, in turn, are Cup teams taking advantage of the system, thereby hurting independent Busch Series teams?

Many scream yes, pointing to situations like newly formed Braun-Akins Racing as proof-positive. Todd Braun and Doug Stringer, owners of Braun Racing and Akins Motorsports, respectively, announced Wednesday an agreement to merge.

"It's probably bad for independent Busch teams," Nemechek said. "Jack Roush has six cars in some races, and Childress has three or four. Keep going down the line and all the sudden that adds up to a lot of extra cars that were normally not in the series.

"It's hard, but with having the experience I've had -- I've won 18 races in my career and 18 or 19 poles and NEMCO has won 25 races -- you can be competitive. The advantage I have is experience, just like Mark Martin or Greg Biffle or Kevin Harvick.

"I can be competitive on the track ... just need the resources and dollars it takes to be competitive."

Nemechek estimates a $6 million budget is required to field a competitive Busch Series program full time. In turn, he expects more split primary sponsorships in the future.

He'd like to field a full-time effort, give himself 20 to 25 races and leave the remaining 10 to 15 to someone else. But without proper backing, Nemechek won't grace the series much at all in 2006. Currently, Daytona is the only definite.

And this is a guy who won at least one race every year between 1997 and 2004, despite running less than half the schedule in seven of those eight seasons.

"Some of the most gratifying stuff in the past, here we are an independent beating the multi-car teams for many years, and can still do that given equal circumstances," Nemechek said.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.