Establishment of team owners’ alliance powers speculation

Nine of NASCAR’s most influential teams have formed “The Race Team Alliance,” a move announced Monday that raised speculation from some observers over whether this was the first ambiguous step toward a union of sorts among owners.

That notion was quickly dismissed by the group, headed by Rob Kauffman, a coowner with Michael Waltrip Racing.

“Calling it a union would be incorrect. A union would be for employees,” Kauffman told the Associated Press. “The rightway to characterize it would be a ‘business alliance.’ Unions are about employees directly trying to negotiate something. The RTA is pooling together to look at things we can be doing better.”

Officials said the focus of the group will include health care and benefits for employees, using the collective clout to bundle packages together for better deals on things like hotel rooms during race weeks.

Regardless, the timing of the announcement seemed a bit odd, coming in the middle of the season after a rain-delayed Coke Zero 400, one of the marquee events on the schedule.

NASCAR has a distinctive business model. It was founded in the late 1940s by the France family, which now also owns 13 tracks on the Sprint Cup circuit under the International Speedway Corporation banner. Although drivers sign contracts with any handful of race teams, they are essentially independent contractors working for NASCAR.

Historically, NASCAR has squashed any attempts to unionize. It’s happened only twice, to be precise.

The RTA will include Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, Michael Waltrip Racing, Richard Childress Racing, Richard Petty Motor Sports, Roush Fenway Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing and Team Penske.

Kauff man said that smaller organizations are welcome to join. NASCAR issued a nondescript response to the announcement.

“NASCAR’s mission, as it has always been, is to create a fair playing field where anyone can come and compete,” NASCAR chief communications officer Brett Jewkes said in a statement. “Our job is to support and strengthen all of the teams, large and small, across all of our series and we’ll continue to do that. NASCAR is a unique community with hundreds of stakeholders. They all have a voice and always will.”