Ganassi's partnership with Sabates began mergers (cont'd)

"You have to make sure every penny is accounted for," he added. "Activation becomes the key. The idea of 200 mph billboards, you really don't hear about that anymore. That's not why companies are getting involved in the sport. They're getting involved to bring their brand to life. To do that, from the team side, it takes resources and people, three- and four-car operations ... to have an owner who used to be focused more on the competition side, let's say, or more on the business side, it's hard to do both as effectively as it may have been in the past because we're talking about 400-, 500-person businesses with a multi-million-dollar investment. That's why, to be honest, a little later than I would have thought it was going to happen, you get people like Fenway Sports Group and Gillett and more classically trained sports marketers, business marketers, to now be asked to come in and take the lead on continuing the growth."

Ganassi said the trend would continue, because at the end of the day, he who runs the business the best is going to stay in the sport. Those who don't, won't.

"These [race teams] are getting so big and cumbersome," Ganassi said. "We're not that many years away from just a group of guys that enjoyed working together. When you get 300-400 people, you run into other issues. You have real human resource issues, you have real challenges and real families that are counting on you and depending on you as a business operator. They're real-life challenges that real businesses have, and make no mistake about it, this is a real business. They didn't used to be, 20 years ago, they were hobby businesses. Back then, there weren't many people approaching it as a real business, and they're not doing so hot now.

"At the end of the day, no matter what, if you're racing cars or selling ice cream cones or you're manufacturing flat-screen TVs, it's even more important today than ever that you run your business in a manner that is, on all fronts, fiscally responsible. At the end of the day, the guys that run the best businesses will survive any downturns. He'll be able to take advantage of the upswing and not be damaged in a downturn.

"I remember the day in racing when I just wanted to do everything I could to make sure I was there next year. That was the first order of business, to make sure you were there next year. You can back up from there, and then let's start winning races."

Six years into the first NASCAR mega-merger, Ganassi is keeping up with the trends he helped begin. Hiring Lauletta to watch over the business and marketing side was just the latest move. As NASCAR moves toward larger teams and larger businesses, it will be interesting to see what happens next.