Front Row Motorsports
When he isn’t overseeing his more than 260 Taco Bell franchises or his other businesses, Bob Jenkins is usually plotting how he can advance his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series team, Front Row Motorsports. Jenkins, 55, is one of the younger majority owners in NASCAR, and he’s taking his time to build up the outfit with the sort of investment needed to compete against the sport’s top teams. In a rare interview, Jenkins opens up on why he’s investing more in his team now than before, why he thinks a manufacturer spending cap is more realistic than a team spending cap and how the sport is positioned.
As my businesses have grown and race team has stabilized, I continue to invest more because you want the return to be there. I try to not rely on swinging for the bleachers all the time and instead just have a gradual goal of getting better each year..
Bob Jenkins
Owner, Front Row Motorsports
On growing slowly as a team: You have to lay a foundation. I’ve seen a lot of people waste fortunes in NASCAR, and when they walk away, they don’t really have anything. I started out as a lifelong NASCAR fan and got into it because I loved it, but the model I’ve always done is subsidize my team; I think most owners, including some at the top, do that. I’ve always tried to do that within my means.
On spending more on the team this year: I’m a firm believer in there’s a time to spend and a time to pull back. And there were times it didn’t make sense — you have to evaluate where you are compared to everyone else. There were times we were on a second-tier engine program and would just race within our means. This year’s a little different; we’ve stepped it up on a lot of different fronts. We have a top-tier engine program, cultivated a good relationship with Ford and they’re spending more on us than they’ve ever spent. And with (new driver Michael McDowell) coming on board, now’s one of those times when I want to invest.
On preferring a manufacturer spending cap than a team spending cap: As far as spending caps, I think it’d be very difficult to enforce. What I’d like to see is a cap for the manufacturers. And this is something I’ve lobbied the ownership group on. … If Toyota wants to put all their efforts in one team and have four teams score points for them, they can do that. But there’s only so much that manufacturers are going to spend, and traditionally you have had a few teams get the lion’s share, and that’s what creates competitive imbalance. There’s no secret to it.
You can’t keep someone from going out and landing a Fortune 100 company that gives them $20 million; this is America, you have to let people do that. But NASCAR could regulate the flow of manufacturer dollars. It’s not a popular idea among the top teams, because you’re kind of getting into their honey hole. “Why would we want to get less money?” So their idea of competitive balance is spending less on tires, travel or rosters. But they don’t want to address the spending coming into the teams from the manufacturers.
— Adam Stern
