Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
NASCAR is a tough business to be in.
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The buy-in to the sport for a new team is astronomical. For a team and a driver to show up and make a race we are already talking millions of dollars. If you want your team to be competitive, it’s going to cost even more millions. Sometimes that cost is simply too much for some if the results are not there and that was the case with Rob Kauffman and Michael Waltrip Racing.
In August Kauffman who was the main financial backer of the team announced that he was taking his money elsewhere. The result was that MWR which currently fields two full-time NASCAR teams (at one point they fielded three teams) would cease to exist in 2016.
Following the announcement the immediate attention went to the drivers on the team. With MWR not running full-time in 2016 it means that Clint Bowyer and David Ragan are going to be in search of a new ride. While the drivers might be the first thing that gets attention when a team folds, it shouldn’t be the only thing.
The closing of Michael Waltrip Racing impacts more than just Michael Waltrip, Bowyer and Ragan. The closing of the team is also going to leave hundreds of other people without jobs. According to a recent article by the Charlotte Observer, more than 200 people will be losing their jobs as a result of MWR closing their doors.
"According to a letter sent to the N.C. Commerce Department, 217 employees will be laid off in stages between Nov. 1 and April 15. The company said it is liquidating its assets, which is expected to be completed by mid-April.“All employees have been notified of the reduction in force and ultimate closure and, therefore, there will be no bumping rights regarding the job in question,” the company wrote.Bumping is when a more senior employee’s job is cut and instead of that worker losing employment, he or she “bumps” a less senior employee and takes that person’s job, according to the Society for Human Resource Management."
Sure, some of the folks that are losing their jobs with MWR will land on their feet somewhere else in NASCAR. When it comes to a business that is driven by competition and success the best people at their positions always seem to rise to the top. With that in mind, I am sure there are some extremely talented people with MWR that will be sought after by other NASCAR teams.
However, the harsh reality is that the majority of the people losing their jobs will most likely not have an easy transition into the next phase of their careers. If it were easy to get a job in NASCAR everyone who wanted one would have one and that’s simply not how it works. The drivers who will be looking for new teams in 2016 will be getting all of the attention in the fallout of MWR but it’s important not to forget that the drivers aren’t the only people impacted by the closing of the company.