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CUP: Ganassi Says No. 40 Shutdown was Economics, Not Franchitti
Written by: SceneDaily.com
SceneDaily.com   
07/04/2008 - 01:52 PM
Daytona Beach, Fla.
 
Pit crew of the #40 Guitar Hero/Target Dodge driven by Dario Franchitti performs pit service during LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. (Jerry Markland/Getty Images Photo) ยป More Photos

Chip Ganassi says the shutting down of the No. 40 team was not about driver Dario Franchitti but it was about being unable to find a sponsor.

He shut down the team Tuesday, parking Franchitti’s initial Sprint Cup season, because “to fund these cars out of your pocket I don’t think makes sense.”

“You get to a point where you say, ‘Wait a minute, the bleeding has to stop here,’” Ganassi said Thursday at Daytona International Speedway. “You run the risk of pulling down two well-funded other cars and I don’t want to do that. That’s not fair to the sponsors that are on the other cars. … Unfortunately we had to lay off a lot of good employees.

“I’m disappointed and hurt about that.”

Ganassi said sponsorship is tied to performance. The No. 40 team was 40th in
owner points, while the No. 42 team with driver Juan Pablo Montoya is 21st in owners points and the No. 41 team with driver Reed Sorenson is 31st in owners points.

“There’s no team that runs well that is not funded well,” Ganassi said. “It’s a chicken-and-egg thing. If you run well, you get sponsors. If you don’t run well, you need money and you don’t get sponsors.”

The No. 40 team was not guaranteed a spot in the race week to week after the fifth race of the 2008 season as it had fallen outside the top 35 in owners points. Franchitti then missed the seventh race of the year at Texas, and later missed five races because of an injury.

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