Second-class treatment takes toll on Davis

Elwood · June 11, 2003

By Lee Spencer -

Was Bill Davis really trying to get the hell out of Dodge when he began his courtship with Toyota, or was it a matter of survival for a seemingly fickle Winston Cup car owner?

It would be easy to pillory Davis for changing car makes for the fourth time in 10 years, but sometimes the obvious target doesn't deserve all the flak.

Dodge parent DaimlerChrysler sued Davis for breach of contract and pulled its support after it learned Davis was helping Toyota develop a truck for the Craftsman Truck Series next season.

One could conclude that Davis was looking to turn a fast buck. A signing bonus from Toyota easily could mean an additional $5 million to $10 million in Davis' bank account if his organization was chosen to spearhead Toyota's truck program. It also would mean that Bill Davis Racing had alienated every Detroit manufacturer that supplies cars to Winston Cup.

But was Dodge holding up its end of the deal with Davis, or was he getting what amounted to factory seconds?

Jim Smith, who fields factory-backed Dodges in the Craftsman Truck Series but still is building his Cup program with Jimmy Spencer, says he does not receive the financial backing that fuels such powerhouses as Penske South and Ganassi Racing. But Smith says the engineering support and wind tunnel time Dodge offer are "second to none."

A source familiar with Davis' situation differs, saying the technological support that trickles down to Smith, Davis and Petty Enterprises is six months behind the curve.

Davis fields Dodges for Ward Burton and Kenny Wallace in Winston Cup and Chevrolets for Scott Wimmer in the Busch Series, which isn't a conflict of interest because Dodge does not have a factory-supported Busch program.

When Toyota announced it would compete in trucks in 2004, Davis was mentioned as a candidate to help start the program. Chip Ganassi, who has a relationship with Toyota in the Indy Racing League, also was rumored as a potential partner. But sources say Ganassi wanted more than twice the going rate to convert his NASCAR programs to Toyota.

Dodge kept an eye on Davis over the last few months -- and didn't like what it found. It terminated its relationship with Davis after learning that representatives from Davis Racing took a Toyota prototype truck to the Lockheed wind tunnel in Marietta, Ga., on April 30.

Davis Racing released a statement in which it said "there is no justifiable reason" for DaimlerChrysler to assert that Davis Racing breached an agreement. Les Unger, Toyota motorsports manager, says NASCAR gave its blessing for Davis and others to assist Toyota in the research and development of the new Tundra truck, and that the engine will be built in-house. Unger is adamant that no one is signed to field an official Toyota truck team.

"Our position is that nothing we've done is different from what anyone else would do to get a program up and running," Unger says. "We would not have used Bill's services if we thought there was an issue."

Initially, I was ready to side with Dodge. I was ready to discount Davis as just another NASCAR opportunist. Then I heard the rest of the story. When Davis signed on with Dodge in 2000, he was under the impression that BDR would be one of three factory-backed organizations to run Intrepids in Winston Cup for the next five years. Petty Enterprises and Evernham Motorsports were the other two.

At the time, Davis' Pontiacs were overshadowed completely by those of Joe Gibbs Racing. Dodge's one-team approach, with Davis, Evernham and Petty sharing data, was an attractive alternative. Then Ganassi signed on with Dodge in 2001, followed by Penske at the end of last year.

Once those juggernauts were aboard, Davis and the Pettys became Dodge's afterthoughts. Because Dodge brought in Ray Evernham to get its Cup program going and sponsors his cars, he still is part of the inner circle.

So if Toyota -- which is well known in motorsports circles for spending whatever it takes to be competitive -- came knocking, who could blame Davis for splitting with Dodge, if he could broker a deal that made him flagship of the fleet?

It will be up to the courts to decide whether Davis breached the contract. But one thing is certain in racing: It's a lot better to be at the head of the lunch line than it is to eat leftovers.