PENSKE PURGE AS CRISIS LOOMS

Penske purge as crisis looms – Photo: LAT

Supercars super-squad DJR Team Penske has sacked staff as the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis takes hold.

By MARK FOGARTY

AUTO ACTION has learned DJRTP laid off at least five employees early this week.

Among those let go was media manager Ben Nightingale, who confirmed his termination on Facebook.

The sackings happened on Tuesday, just over three weeks before the return of Supercars racing at Sydney Motorsport Park on June 27-28.

AA understands that DJRTP is not the only team to shed staff, despite the federal government’s JobKeeper wage subsidies.

A leading Holden team is believed to have stood down at least 10 staff.

Most others have also trimmed their personnel.

Supercars itself has been down to as few as five of more than 80 full-time employees recently, with more to return in the lead-up to the SMP resumption.

However, Supercars and most of the teams are unlikely to reinstate staff their pre-pandemic levels.

DJRTP’s axings are concerning because, along with Triple Eight, it is the most heavily commercially supported team.

There is speculation that funding from the parent Penske organisation has been pulled amid huge cutbacks.

DJRTP relies on the Penske racing formula of business-to-business sponsorship deals with major partners like Shell.

Those B2B arrangements are under duress as the world economy declines because of the COVID-19 lockdown.

Apparently ordered from America, the DJRTP sackings were swift.

AA understands the terminations were immediate, with the sacked employees ‘escorted’ from the team’s premises at Stapylton, between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, upon notification on Tuesday.

The most high-profile victim was popular media manager Ben Nightingale, who joined DJRTP in 2017.

A former specialist motoring writer, Nightingale previously worked in communications with Supercars, Tekno Autosports and Team 18.

He was particularly effective during DJRTP’s many controversies in 2018 and last year.

His exit suggests that DJRTP places little importance on informing fans through the media.

To AA’s knowledge, no other team has sacked its media relations person.

Penske Corporation boss Roger Penske, a racing enthusiast, is having to make hard decisions to secure the survival of his global enterprise.

It is not hard to imagine that Penske’s interests in Australia and New Zealand, including DJRTP, are relatively low priorities.

Also no wonder in the current environment is that there have been persistent rumours that Penske will pull out of Supercars.

That speculation has been denied, but the current crisis makes it plausible.

DJR Team Penske is majority-owned by Team Penske in the USA, with most of the rest held by independently wealthy team principal Ryan Story. Team figurehead Dick Johnson also has a small stake.

Penske Corporation, of which Roger is chairman, is a privately held company that owns car dealerships across the USA and western Europe, and is a major player in truck leasing and sales in America and Australasia.

Team Penske is a wholly-owned division, running in NASCAR, IndyCar, IMSA and Supercars. Newly established Penske Entertainment now owns and operates the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar Series.

If a team owned by a multi-billion dollar conglomerate is cutting key staff, it makes you wonder about the viability of every other Supercars squad.

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