Baldwin: Genius or Madman?

What kind of madman starts his own unsponsored Sprint Cup team a month before the season starts, in the middle of a global economic meltdown and without a driver, sponsor or car number?

Say hello to Tommy Baldwin, lifelong racer and — perhaps — somebody who is a whole smarter than most of us are giving him credit for.

Baldwin, who cut his teeth with his late father on the short tracks of New York and New England, knows the racing game better than most. His plan is to keep costs at a bare minimum — no fancy shop, no luxury items, no high-dollar driver or crew chief. Make sure costs are low, low, low. It’s a sound strategy on several levels.

With so many teams now out of business or drastically scaled back, Baldwin’s fledgling squad stands a good chance of actually making races, instead of piling up a lot of costly DNQs. And NASCAR Sprint Cup races actually pay pretty well these days: Last year, Kenny Wallace earned a cool $256,735 for his last-place finish in the Daytona 500, while Sam Hornish Jr. pocketed $125,539 by coming home 43rd at California the following week. By my unofficial research, the least amount of money any driver earned in a single Sprint Cup race last year was the $60,373 “Mad Max” Papis took in at Watkins Glen International.

Do the math: If Baldwin’s car can make every race and average $100,000 each time out, the team will pocket $3.6 million. Add a few sponsor dollars in there, and as long as Baldwin’s driver doesn’t crash too often or blow too many engines, the team can make it.

Will they win races? Of course not. But if they can stick around for one season and build something, they could be here a long time. It’s a formula that’s worked for Robby Gordon and it could work for Baldwin, too.