No Fear Racing, RCM to merge

Rick Clark and Boris Said have announced a merger between Rick Clark Motorsports and No Fear Racing for the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup campaign.

The new organisation will run with majority minority ownership with Said at the wheel of the #60 entry for 12-18 events during 2009 - although he will compete in the #08 car at Daytona this weekend in a commitment already in place.

Clark, an African American businessman who spent eight years in the NFL as an agent for several players, was lured to the appeal of NASCAR and the opportunity to create a multicultural approach to auto racing which focuses on America's youth by noted friend and ESPN lead broadcaster Jerry Punch.

The race team will create a platform from which other marketing programs will be launched to increase inclusion in the industry.

"We have several verticals that all work together to create a comprehensive programme," said Clark. "Those verticals will not only work to encourage minorities to attend races, but to make NASCAR part of the various minority cultures to create a feeling of ownership in the sport among those groups.

"We have an urban-wear clothing line in the works called Krewe Wear with the tag line 'Who's in your Krewe?' The clothing line is one of several reasons why No Fear is such a good fit for us, as they are an established brand among 18 to 24- year-olds with a global distribution network.

"Additionally, Boris in not your 'cookie-cutter' driver. He has a wide appeal and will serve us well in developing young drivers who might not otherwise have a shot in the sport. We fully appreciate the works of NASCAR's Drive 4 Diversity program and hope to enhance those efforts in addition to those of people like Brad Daugherty and Randy Moss, and look forward to working with both Marcus Jadotte, Max Siegel and others."

Said meanwhile said he was delighted with the new partnership.

"It's no secret that our race team needed funding," he said. "However, if we were going to do anything, we felt like the partnership needed to make sense. When
Rick Clark came to us and outlined his programme, there were so many synergies on and off the track that it just made sense for us.

"The business we will create taking on a clothing line of this magnitude makes the partnership a win-win from the get-go. I'm also involved in some of the diversity efforts already out there and that has always been important to me. But for me, being able to get back in the race car is what I'm really excited about."

Prominent Wall Street and emerging markets finance lawyer, Al Tindall, will also act as a principal in the RCM No Fear Racing team.