NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
  • Peg It on GarageMonkey
CUP: Red Bull GM Frye Hopes To Keep Team Afloat
Red Bull Racing vice president and general manager Jay Frye has plans to keep the team in NASCAR...
Mike Hembree  |  Posted June 21, 2011   Charlotte, NC
Red Bull Racing vice president and general manager Jay Frye is working on a plan to keep the organization in NASCAR beyond 2011. (Photo: Getty Images)
Red Bull energy drink’s move to leave NASCAR was described as a “business decision” Tuesday by Red Bull team vice president Jay Frye, who said he is moving forward with plans to keep the team afloat next season.

Frye said he hopes to be in “serious talks” with potential investors and/or sponsors in the next 30 to 45 days.

The decision by Red Bull, which has been involved in many levels of sports marketing – particularly in Formula One racing – for many years, to leave NASCAR was revealed this week. Red Bull owns and sponsors a two-car Sprint Cup team that currently fields Toyotas for drivers Kasey Kahne and Brian Vickers. Their contracts run out at the end of this season, which now also is scheduled to be Red Bull’s swan song.

Frye, also the team’s general manager, said he and Red Bull officials are actively working to keep the team going next season with new investors and sponsors.

“We’ve very enthused about some of the prospects we have going on,” Frye said in a Tuesday press conference. “The process has really just started. We’ve had a lot of inquiries based just on yesterday [when Red Bull’s intentions became known].

“We’ve very keen and encouraged about the prospects of everything moving forward. Red Bull’s No. 1 goal is that the team continues on the path it’s currently on.”

Frye said there is the possibility that Red Bull will remain as a part owner or sponsor of the team. “But we’re still unclear about what will happen or in what capacity that might be,” he said.

Frye said the change is a business decision and is a “change in strategy. I was given no specific reason or specific situation. This team is a very competitive Sprint Cup team that competes at a high level every week. It has a lot of great people and great assets. There is a lot of people interested in what we have and what we’ve done.”

Frye said the team’s employees – he said the number is between 150 and 200 – have been informed about the situation and said they realize it’s in their best interests for the team to be all that it can be over the next few months.

“They understand it’s about performing,” he said. “We’ve got to finish the season strong. Being in a professional sport, we’re paid to perform and at a high level, so the better we do that right now, the better everything will be. Obviously, people want to be associated with winners, and we think we’re winners.”

Frye said his priority is to line up ownership and sponsorship before pursuing talks with potential drivers for next year. Veteran driver Mark Martin has been rumored to be involved in preliminary discussions. Frye described Martin as “a great friend, a great race car driver and a great competitor” but said Martin has not been involved in talks.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 29 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
mike.hembree's avatar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mike Hembree

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | FAQ | Terms of Use | NEW Privacy Policy | Ad Choices | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | National Geographic | IGN | AskMen
The Motor Sports Authority, SPEED and associated logos are registered trademarks of Speed Channel Inc.
All Rights Reserved © Speed Channel, Inc. 2013

All external links will open in a new browser window. SPEED.com does not endorse external sites.