Tuesday, December 04, 2012

Team Vows Not to Start and Park

Brandon Davis' new Sprint Cup team made him feel ill at the first race he attended.

After making only 127 of 400 laps at Richmond International Raceway, David Stremme drove his Inception Motorsports Toyota to the garage. It was one of 20 instances in 28 starts last year that the team elected to "start and park" — a strategy in which teams forgo running a full distance in favor of an easy paycheck.

The newest car owner in NASCAR's premier series vows the rebranded Swan Racing won't be employing the philosophy next season.

"I got so sick to my stomach. I couldn't stand it," Davis told USA TODAY Sports in a phone interview Tuesday. "I said I didn't care if I get anything out of it or not, we're not going to do that."

Davis, the CEO of an independent oil and gas company called Swan Energy that primarily has assets in Colorado and Oklahoma, said the team will double its staff from last year and will have a budget that's two and a half times as large. Swan Energy will be the primary sponsor, and Davis said the team is in discussion with adding more associate sponsors. (USA Today)