Phoenix Racing Closing Up Shop

[Thunder98]

Phoenix Racing to exit NASCAR: Unable to find a long-term sponsor for his #51 Sprint Cup team, James Finch is eyeballing an exit from racing all together. "I'm contemplating finishing up this year, and I don't know if I want a sponsor," Finch said Monday. "Sunday was my 776th start in NASCAR between the Nationwide and Sprint Cup. That's a lot of weekends. I'm considering pulling the plug later in the summer." Finch, 62, said Phoenix Racing will not enter any races after the Brickyard 400 scheduled for July 28 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He said he intends to wrap up team operations before the Chase for the Cup begins in September. "I have not been able to get the right amount of funding, the economy is pretty bad, and a lot of people don't want to do it," Finch said of his team's fruitless search for a permanent sponsor. "I'm getting kind of burned out. I think it is time for me to do something else." Finch's decision comes in the midst of one of his most successful seasons as an owner. Finch currently is tied for 13th in NASCAR's owner points standings with 276 points, just a handful of points outside the Top 10. Phoenix Racing enjoyed a fourth-place finish with Kurt Busch behind the wheel for the Nationwide race at Talladega this past weekend, and Regan Smith steered the team's #51 car to a sixth-place finish in Sunday's Aaron's 499. The team's success, which includes a pair of Top-10 finishes and five Top-15 results, did not appear to help the team find a full-time sponsor, however. The team has found sponsors for individual or small blocks of races, but the lack of a permanent sponsor has forced Finch to cover his team's considerable costs on his own. "I don't want to lose everything I've got trying to outrun people," Finch said. "I can't do that. It's time to do something else and go from there. I've still got some cars I haven't torn up. And I don't want to build any new ones." Finch said he will help his 18 employees find work with other racing teams if they want to remain in the sport.(News Herald)(5-7-2013)

Gonna be difficult not seeing Finch's cars on track...

 

[nascarman14]

Dang it man, that sucks...Just like you said, gonna be difficult to not see his cars out there

 

[4WideRacing]

That's really sad. I wonder if he is really going to leave this time or just trying to get publicity and a chance to get a sponsor.

 

[Hyperacti]

That's really sad. I wonder if he is really going to leave this time or just trying to get publicity and a chance to get a sponsor.

My initial thought, strangely. The story came at just the perfect time for this.

But it's probably both.


They're really close to upsetting their way into the owners chase so I really hope they can finish out the year. A win at Daytona in July and who knows

 

[the Ghost888]

I guess this is why he didn't care if Kurt wrecked the car for Nationwide to get the win. I'm sure it was the same for Regan

 

[Carl Robinson]

I dont know if any of you knew this but James finch has been in a legal suit with the state of florida for the past 6 years initially he was to pay back like 1.6 million to the state for damage done when his company built a dam I think...In any case theve been coming after him for more and more and I think last I heard they wanted 5 million because finch had yet to pay in fully. That may have something to do with it I dont know.


In any case I think if James Just Decided to Run 7 Races a year
4 SS races
both Charlotte
and Darlington (the teams home track)

He could find a package to finance the car long enough.

 

[vozdt24]

I guess this is why he didn't care if Kurt wrecked the car for Nationwide to get the win. I'm sure it was the same for Regan

that's long been his philosophy. get the win at any cost.
a few years back, mike bliss was driving the 1 on the busch side and was very solidly in the top 10 in points. finch fired him mid season cause he hadn't scored a W.

he kept jimmy spencer (the yellow car) around for ages part time because he'd go out there and try and win at any cost...which was why jimmy was so good on the busch side.

james finch has pulled the i'm leaving card in the past. he's not done it. he's scaled back but never fully quit. he even start and parked with joe ruttman back in the early 2k's.

but i do hope someone funds the team. this sport need phoenix racing and the no bs image they bring to the track. no one ever hears jack roush get on the radio and say checkers or wreckers, never heard coach gibbs say bring me a trophy or the steering wheel.

 

[vozdt24]

I dont know if any of you knew this but James finch has been in a legal suit with the state of florida for the past 6 years initially he was to pay back like 1.6 million to the state for damage done when his company built a dam I think...In any case theve been coming after him for more and more and I think last I heard they wanted 5 million because finch had yet to pay in fully. That may have something to do with it I dont know.


In any case I think if James Just Decided to Run 7 Races a year
4 SS races
both Charlotte
and Darlington (the teams home track)

He could find a package to finance the car long enough.

yeah i've heard of that. something about environmental regulations, IIRC... i may have my facts mixed up.

but I agree. the 4 plate races are pretty cheap - the same two cars can run all 4 races. just gotta replace the motors. daytona pays well just to finish.

you could use the same car at charlotte and darlington as well. 2 plate cars, 2 intermediate cars and you got 1/5 of the season run.

 

[evan07]

Man this sucks the team was doing so well. I hope they can run some plate tracks in the future.

 

[RaceMan]

The team has been running strong for the amount of people and the strength of the equipment, I hope James could find a big full time sponsor.

 

[Harry Nurpplez]

He's just bluffing again. This is nothing more than a ploy to get everyone talking about him to get business attention for his team. He won't leave in the middle of the season.

 

[Relly]

I'm going to go back to what I said in January (?) about this topic.... James Finch says this all the time, this is probably about the 5th or 6th time he has said those exact words and he's still here today and his team is arguably doing better than they ever have, and with drivers like Smith, Allmendinger, A Dillion and Ryan Truex when he gets healthy.

Now could there be some behind the scenes happening like Carl Robinson pointing out? Of course, I just won't believe Finch when it comes to these kinds of statements until I don't see the 51 on the entry list one week.

 

[brt3]

I know he has threatened to leave in the past and this may be a ploy, but every business owner hits their breaking point when it's just not worth it anymore. The thing that is a little different with this one is he says he is burnt out. I don't think I've heard him say that before.

Even if he does leave, I think he will come back. He'll miss it and be a Daytona one year.

 

[RP Motorsports]

I dont know if any of you knew this but James finch has been in a legal suit with the state of florida for the past 6 years initially he was to pay back like 1.6 million to the state for damage done when his company built a dam I think...In any case theve been coming after him for more and more and I think last I heard they wanted 5 million because finch had yet to pay in fully. That may have something to do with it I dont know.

Finch isnt on the hook for any money.

A few years back, his company was part of an airport renovation project in which a re-sodding job was sub-contracted out, and ultimately done incorrectly (and the sub-contractor didnt have a proper permit), causing storm water run-off in nearby creeks. The Department of Environmental Protection ended up hitting the project with fines because of it. The Airport Authority originally went after Finch (Phoenix Construction) for the money (and Finch filed a counter-suit at the time for cost overrun), but they later settled and dropped all claims against eachother. Then the Airport Authority and Finch joined forces to seek damages from the project engineers, who they claim are responsible for these issues.

So thats where it stands right now. If the suit is successful, Finch and the Airport Authority will split the money (and some of it will be used to cover the lawyer costs and withheld construction costs for Finch's company). And if its not successful, Finch walks away with nothing lost, nothing gained.

but I agree. the 4 plate races are pretty cheap - the same two cars can run all 4 races. just gotta replace the motors.

Not so cheap. Preparing cars for a plate race is actually more expensive than any other race. In fact, some of the smaller teams use as much as 1/3 of their yearly budget, just for the plate races.

you could use the same car at charlotte and darlington as well. 2 plate cars, 2 intermediate cars and you got 1/5 of the season run.

But then when one of those cars gets torn up, you're screwed. Its basically inevitable.

Not to mention, you have to lease motors at $40k a piece, buy 10-14 sets of tires every race, pay entry/licensing fees, pay personnel (working at the shop and at the track), pay for room and board, pay a crew to pit the car, etc...etc... Its an incredibly costly venture to go Cup racing.

 

[evan07]

Plate tracks are high risk but as we saw Sunday they can also be high reward. It makes sense for a small team to really focus on plate tracks because that's the best chance they have at winning and performing well.

 

[vozdt24]

Not so cheap. Preparing cars for a plate race is actually more expensive than any other race. In fact, some of the smaller teams use as much as 1/3 of their yearly budget, just for the plate races.



But then when one of those cars gets torn up, you're screwed. Its basically inevitable.

Not to mention, you have to lease motors at $40k a piece, buy 10-14 sets of tires every race, pay entry/licensing fees, pay personnel (working at the shop and at the track), pay for room and board, pay a crew to pit the car, etc...etc... Its an incredibly costly venture to go Cup racing.

oh yeah. don't disagree.

make no bones about it...running just those 4 races are terribly expensive. but i think, esp. given FRM's performance on sunday - dollars spent @ plate racing can offer a really good return on the investment.

 

[labontefanboy]

I personally believe Finch is just bluffing, attempting to get sponsorship money coming his way. But if he isn't bluffing, it's sad to see them go. With such a small number of employees, that team has done remarkably well this season.

 

[Darren Ingram]

How many times has he said this before? He's just trying to get a sponsor... I believe that they'll at least finish this season as good as they are running this year... what are they, 13th in owners points or so?

 

[bigrolltide1877]

You would think since they have been really good this year that would attract sponsors but it hasnt.

 

[vozdt24]

You would think since they have been really good this year that would attract sponsors but it hasnt.

something tells me he's picky about the sponsorship deals he entertains. i suspect he's looking to be funded at the 20-25 mil a year the top teams command. he may be getting a lot of low ball offers that do nothing to grow the team.


i say beggars can't be choosers.
a bill paid is a bill paid.