PHS Wildcats
05-01-2008, 08:00 PM
http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/blog/from_the_marbles/post/The-Daily-Dose-Randy-Moss-a-stranger-in-a-str?urn=nascar,79998
The Daily Dose: Randy Moss - a stranger in a strange land
By Bob Margolis
On Tuesday, All-Pro wide receiver Randy Moss of the New England Patriots became the latest to add his name to a long list of players and coaches from the National Football League who have attempted to become involved in NASCAR - as team owners.
With Moss Motorsports, Moss joins an all-star group which includes names like Joe Gibbs, Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach, Terry Bradshaw, Dan Marino and Tim Brown.
Unfortunately, the report card for this kind of crossover attempt has been a mixed bag, with more failures than successes.
Arguably only Gibbs can lay claim to having much success, although Aikman and Staubach and to some extent Bradshaw did see their tenure in NASCAR as more of a positive experience than negative.
Apparently Moss isn't a newcomer to racing. He's lent his name and presumably opened his wallet to a dirt-track team and he has served as a "Goodwill Ambassador" for the Urban Youth Racing School, which promotes auto racing to kids in the inner city areas of the country.
The announcement on Tuesday included no mention of any specific manufacturer alliance, sponsorship or driver.
However, Moss plans on fielding an entry in the Craftsman Truck Series by the end of the current season and launch a full-time campaign in 2009.
Moss admits that while he doesn't have all the details in place and that he and the group he has assembled are in the process of exploring who to hire for his team, he is "by nature a very competitive person and that this is an outlet for me to compete at another level."
I'm just wondering if he knows exactly what he's getting himself into.
There's an old joke in racing that goes like this - If you're a team owner and want to make a $1 million, you need to start with $5 million.
I hope that Moss and his associates have deep, deep pockets and are willing to open them up liberally to get a venture such as this off the ground.
He could put about $4-5 million of his NFL bonus money to good use hiring the right people, moving into an existing shop and then building or buying a fleet of two to three trucks and engines.
NASCAR is a tough business, one that is entirely different from anything Moss may have encountered before. It's all about the relationships - who you know here is much more important than how well you can catch a ball or make it to the end zone.
He'll have many challenges to overcome, the least being finding the right people to build a team from the ground up.
May I suggest that he align himself with an existing Craftsman Truck organization and then use his name and its possible influence along with the purported interest he has from companies he already works with to obtain the proper financing to expand.
Despite all the challenges before him, I commend Moss for even making the attempt. NASCAR needs more team owners like him - independent, aggressive and wealthy.
But before he starts opening up his checkbook, perhaps someone should send Moss the phone number of former NFL star and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown, who announced a similar venture nearly three years ago.
Brown's entry into NASCAR was also highly touted when it was announced as part of NASCAR's "Drive for Diversity" program.
We're still waiting for his team to hit the track.
Given his controversial history in the NFL, perhaps Moss might also think about hooking up with a similarly controversial NASCAR star - Tony Stewart.
Now that Stewart has announced his interest in owning his own team, these two would make for a very interesting partnership.
The Daily Dose: Randy Moss - a stranger in a strange land
By Bob Margolis
On Tuesday, All-Pro wide receiver Randy Moss of the New England Patriots became the latest to add his name to a long list of players and coaches from the National Football League who have attempted to become involved in NASCAR - as team owners.
With Moss Motorsports, Moss joins an all-star group which includes names like Joe Gibbs, Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach, Terry Bradshaw, Dan Marino and Tim Brown.
Unfortunately, the report card for this kind of crossover attempt has been a mixed bag, with more failures than successes.
Arguably only Gibbs can lay claim to having much success, although Aikman and Staubach and to some extent Bradshaw did see their tenure in NASCAR as more of a positive experience than negative.
Apparently Moss isn't a newcomer to racing. He's lent his name and presumably opened his wallet to a dirt-track team and he has served as a "Goodwill Ambassador" for the Urban Youth Racing School, which promotes auto racing to kids in the inner city areas of the country.
The announcement on Tuesday included no mention of any specific manufacturer alliance, sponsorship or driver.
However, Moss plans on fielding an entry in the Craftsman Truck Series by the end of the current season and launch a full-time campaign in 2009.
Moss admits that while he doesn't have all the details in place and that he and the group he has assembled are in the process of exploring who to hire for his team, he is "by nature a very competitive person and that this is an outlet for me to compete at another level."
I'm just wondering if he knows exactly what he's getting himself into.
There's an old joke in racing that goes like this - If you're a team owner and want to make a $1 million, you need to start with $5 million.
I hope that Moss and his associates have deep, deep pockets and are willing to open them up liberally to get a venture such as this off the ground.
He could put about $4-5 million of his NFL bonus money to good use hiring the right people, moving into an existing shop and then building or buying a fleet of two to three trucks and engines.
NASCAR is a tough business, one that is entirely different from anything Moss may have encountered before. It's all about the relationships - who you know here is much more important than how well you can catch a ball or make it to the end zone.
He'll have many challenges to overcome, the least being finding the right people to build a team from the ground up.
May I suggest that he align himself with an existing Craftsman Truck organization and then use his name and its possible influence along with the purported interest he has from companies he already works with to obtain the proper financing to expand.
Despite all the challenges before him, I commend Moss for even making the attempt. NASCAR needs more team owners like him - independent, aggressive and wealthy.
But before he starts opening up his checkbook, perhaps someone should send Moss the phone number of former NFL star and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown, who announced a similar venture nearly three years ago.
Brown's entry into NASCAR was also highly touted when it was announced as part of NASCAR's "Drive for Diversity" program.
We're still waiting for his team to hit the track.
Given his controversial history in the NFL, perhaps Moss might also think about hooking up with a similarly controversial NASCAR star - Tony Stewart.
Now that Stewart has announced his interest in owning his own team, these two would make for a very interesting partnership.