Loophole In NASCAR's Car Limit Rule For Roush-Fenway/Yates?

(Originally published on June 27, 2008)

Between Travis Kvapil’s top-20 status in the points and David Gilliland’s second-place finish at Sonoma, it’s safe to say that Yates Racing has benefited from its alliance with Roush-Fenway Racing.

But has it benefited, from a sponsorship standpoint, in a way that skirts NASCAR’s car-limit rule? By the sanctioning body’s response to questions, it’s hard to tell.

When the alliance was announced—a pact that included Yates Racing moving into a shop on the campus of Roush-Fenway—several stipulations had to be adhered to for the organizations to still be considered separate entities. One of the main requirements is that one team cannot underwrite another’s financial losses.

More than once this year Kvapil, whose team has struggled to find fulltime funding, has been sponsored by companies that also sponsor Roush-Fenway entries in the Craftsman Truck and Nationwide series. At Pocono, he was sponsored by Dish Network, which has primary sponsorship in numerous Cup races sprinkled between different Roush-Fenway drivers.

As part of the alliance, Roush-Fenway’s marketing arm is free to seek sponsorship for Yates entries. But the question is whether the sponsors already affiliated with Roush-Fenway paid additional money to be on the Yates cars, or whether any of that sponsorship money came from existing contracts with Roush-Fenway. And if so, would diverting those funds count as one team underwriting another, thereby violating the rule?

The Press repeatedly contacted NASCAR over a three-week period to get a clarification on whether this would be a violation, and what steps NASCAR could take as far as reviewing sponsorship contracts if such a practice is prohibited. Kerry Tharp, NASCAR’s director of communications for competition, answered Friday with, “We can’t really speculate on ‘what if scenarios’; however, we would certainly review all aspects of anything that raises a question in our mind.”

A Dish Network spokesperson said that the company doesn’t comment on the budgeting and financial terms of its agreements.

A Roush-Fenway spokesperson said that issue should be addressed by Yates Racing personnel. And Yates Racing’s response through its PR staff was, “We do not disclose any terms of our sponsorships to media nor other teams,” later adding, “All of our activities with Yates Racing are in compliance with NASCAR rules.”

But what exactly are those rules?