Are One Car Teams Really Negative?

Photo Credit: NASCAR

One car - or truck - teams are an interesting topic to talk about, and quite frankly, I don't think they're talked about nearly enough.

You say "Oh, so-and-so is a one car team" and people assume it's a bad thing without really thinking about it.  Granted, it does have its negatives, but it also has positives that people have a tendency to forget about. 

A teammate in NASCAR is like a friend; I'd even go as far to say like a brother or sister in the sport - always there for you when you need help; but if you're a one car team, you lack that vital resource.  There's no other driver there to give you advice on the track, or feedback as to what adjustments and improvements they'll be making during practice and the course of the race.  We all know that it's extremely important because something they're doing could be the one little thing you need to do to your car to make it the race winning car.  

Photo Credit: Associated Press

People have a tendency to always think that the negatives outweigh the positives, but sometimes they balance each other out.  With a one car team, all the effort of the crew members and the money is put into one car.  With that, they can have the absolute best that they can afford.  Another thing the team owner doesn’t have to worry about is his drivers fighting.  In most cases, teammates get along well, or they are just good at hiding their extreme hatred for each other - whichever you believe to be true.  Let's go back to last weekend at Michigan, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Jeff Gordon went four-wide and Jeff didn't like it too much, loudly stating how he felt about the No. 88 going four-wide on his radio.  Whatever issues Gordon and Earnhardt, Jr. had, they worked out by Monday morning in the Hendrick Motorsports debrief.

Photo Credit: John Harrelson for Getty Images

I have the perfect example for you all that demonstrates how one car teams and multiple car teams are both good:  Parker Kligerman.  You all know this story, but I'll just refresh your memories.  Eleven races into the 2012 Camping World Truck Series season, it was announced that Parker Kligerman, who was driving the No. 29 Dodge Ram, and Brad Keselowski Racing were parting ways.  Parker was definitely not having a bad year; he had seven top-ten finishes and was sixth in the point standings - a lot of drivers would love results such as those.  Please note, Brad Keselowski was a one truck team and Kligerman was having very good results and was a Championship contender.  Three days after the news of their split, Red Horse Racing announced that Parker would be joining their three-truck team for the remainder of the 2012 season driving the No. 7 Toyota Tundra.  Parker's results for the past two races?  Fourth at Michigan and second at Bristol; impressive, right?  Prior to his two starts with Red Horse Racing, his best finish was at the rain-shortened Dover where he finished second.  Now note:  this is a three-truck team. 

In the end, it doesn't matter if it's a one car team or a four car team, as long as the team, crew members, driver, and owner are extremely invested in making themselves the best out there, that's all that matters and the results will show that.