RYR sets up partnership with open-wheel group

INDIANAPOLIS -- Robert Yates was faced with a difficult choice: either get out of the sport that he's given his blood, sweat and tears to for four decades or give away control of his team in order to keep it running.

Instead, Yates may have found a third option, one that might allow his team to regain its place among NASCAR's best operations.

Paul Newman

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Yates has taken the unusual step of setting up a partnership with an open-wheel team that will provide engineering assistance. On Friday, with Paul Newman, Carl Haas and Michael Lanigan in attendance, Yates announced the formation of Yates-Newman-Haas-Lanigan Racing, combining the forces of his stock-car operation with a team that has more than 100 victories and seven championships in CART and Champ Car.

The announcement ends speculation that Yates was selling or merging his team -- or even interested in taking on a business partner to keep the team financially viable.

"We were looking for people who could help us race better," Yates said. "There are a lot of people out there who [think] NASCAR's very attractive, but we wanted someone who could help us race better and it's not just cubic dollars that helps us race better.

"We have more responsibility to these guys because they want trophies and wins rather than somebody who gives us a lot of money. Again, this is about people who want us for the right reasons. The financial side usually takes care of itself when you run good."

That's something on which Robert Yates Racing has prided itself since it was formed in 1988. In addition to 57 victories and 48 poles, RYR won the 1999 NASCAR championship with Dale Jarrett at the wheel.

However, the team has recently struggled, going winless since Jarrett visited Victory Lane at Talladega two years ago. Neither Ricky Rudd nor David Gilliland is currently in the top 25, and the team's last top-10 finish came at Lowe's Motor Speedway in May.

With the implementation of the Car of Tomorrow, Yates decided finding someone with a strong engineering background might be the best fit for his team, which lacks state-of-the-art technology.

"The Car of Tomorrow coming into NASCAR is really perfect timing for our partnership ... because they come from a world of splitters and wings," co-owner Doug Yates said. "We feel like NASCAR has put a closer tolerance on the bodies, so now you can engineer the car and get some results that may make some sense.

"Their world is engineering, our world has been NASCAR and together we hope that we can take this company, blending the old and the new, to a new level."

Haas has been involved in NASCAR twice previously, co-owning a team with Michael Kranefuss and another with Travis Carter. Sponsor problems ended his last relationship but Haas is excited about the opportunity to return with RYR.

"I think [NASCAR] is a great form of racing and it's growing greater than anything else I've seen around the world," Haas said. "We're looking forward to this. I don't think we could do what we're able to do to get into this thing if we were doing it ourselves. ... I'm thrilled about it."

Driver Ricky Rudd was surprised by the timing of the partnership, but agrees that it's probably Yates' best option at this point.

"I found out [Friday] that this was happening, and I commend Robert," Rudd said. "It was a smart move. He could have ridden it into the ground, walked off into the sunset, shut his operation down and built motors. His motors are second to none.

"By doing this, he is making a statement: 'I don't want to get out of the sport. I know I'm weak, and I need shored up.' What better way is there to get an influx of technology than this deal?"

Yates said it best when he described why he believes Newman-Haas-Lanigan was the best fit for his team: "I don't want anybody to come partner with us just for the money."