The latest auto news, reviews, prices, product and vehicle releases. Jan
7th
Stay connected Subscribe to our RSS feed
From dealings with Ron Dennis, Norbert Haug, and Roger Penske, NASCAR truck series Red Horse Racing team owner, Tom DeLoach Jr. has seen the world of racing from the top.
He's just as familiar with the atmosphere of Monaco as the garages of half-mile ovals in the backwaters of the United States. Yet DeLoach is content with owning a “junior series” team.
Long before Formula One Champion, Kimi Raikkonen, decided to dip his toes into the waters of the NASCAR truck series the American business executive took the same route. Only he stayed.
DeLoach, was a high-flying executive with the Mobil Oil Company becoming the Chief Financial Officer and “part-time” he was the worldwide coordinator of Mobil's motorsports coordinator.
The Formula One Years
Back in the 1990s “we'd been in Formula One through our Saudi affiliate with the Williams team and moved out and trying to figure out a better way to merchandise Mobil One (the high performance oil),” DeLoach told Speedweek exclusively. "The key was to find a luxury high performance car company in racing. If Mercedes-Benz was going to Formula One, and Peter Sauber was in with Mercedes, it wasn't a high performance team and there were rumors involving McLaren's then principal, Ron Dennis. I'd talk to Ron (before a weekend). There had been a long term relationship with Shell. I told him ‘I understand that Shell is there (with McLaren) and I understand and respect longevity.'”
But DeLoach asked Dennis whether the contract was up? “He said ‘well the contract is up.' I said ‘we'd like to deal with you and Mercedes-Benz. Loyalty means a lot to us.' He said ‘I'm talking with Shell this weekend and think we have a deal. And added we do have a handshake deal.' I was terribly disappointed we couldn't deal. Shell is a competitor. We'd hate to lose it to.”
Ron Dennis added that the deal had to go through Shell's attorneys. Apparently there wasn't a deal.
“He called me on Monday morning. They just had a review with Shell's attorneys and they reneged on some of the details and Ron Dennis is a stickler for detail. Anybody around Ron knows he is details, details, details.”
Dennis was ready to deal with Mobil and asked “‘when could you be over here? I said ‘I could be over tomorrow.''
DeLoach took the night flight over arriving in the UK early the next morning along with Mobil's international contracts attorney. “I'm at his office in Woking before he gets to it,” he added.
Mobil had to get used to the cost of a full-blown Formula One involvement quickly
“A lot of people eating serious costs in their budgets Formula One Racing is not cheap. It was amazing we were able to work those things out in a short period of time. When showed him (Dennis) the responsiveness he appreciated it.”
Ron Dennis needed Mobil because McLaren then current main sponsor, Marlboro, was banned as a tobacco sponsor.
And in getting McLaren to be a business partner “we wound up getting what we wanted at the time Mercedes recommending Mobil 1 in AMG products.”
That was about the same time Norbert Haug (who just retired) came along to head the Mercedes effort in the DTM.
Remember DeLoach's “part-time” job was motorsports. In 1998, he became President of Global Midstream, which included global hydrocarbon supply and trading, marine operations, Middle East relationships and worldwide natural gas sales and marketing.
Around 2000 Mobil was bought out by Exxon which did not have the same passion, or perhaps budget for expensive motorsports programs.
“I had been with Mobil for 31 years. I was 52. You still have a little bit of curiosity going on. I had some of the most fantastic jobs. You get accustomed to a pace and all of a sudden the pace is no more and it's shocking. You are part of processing information and it stops (with emphasis) I didn't retire well.”
That's when the door to NASCAR opened up with Roger Penske.
See Part Two for the Penske Years.
He's just as familiar with the atmosphere of Monaco as the garages of half-mile ovals in the backwaters of the United States. Yet DeLoach is content with owning a “junior series” team.
Long before Formula One Champion, Kimi Raikkonen, decided to dip his toes into the waters of the NASCAR truck series the American business executive took the same route. Only he stayed.
DeLoach, was a high-flying executive with the Mobil Oil Company becoming the Chief Financial Officer and “part-time” he was the worldwide coordinator of Mobil's motorsports coordinator.
The Formula One Years
Back in the 1990s “we'd been in Formula One through our Saudi affiliate with the Williams team and moved out and trying to figure out a better way to merchandise Mobil One (the high performance oil),” DeLoach told Speedweek exclusively. "The key was to find a luxury high performance car company in racing. If Mercedes-Benz was going to Formula One, and Peter Sauber was in with Mercedes, it wasn't a high performance team and there were rumors involving McLaren's then principal, Ron Dennis. I'd talk to Ron (before a weekend). There had been a long term relationship with Shell. I told him ‘I understand that Shell is there (with McLaren) and I understand and respect longevity.'”
But DeLoach asked Dennis whether the contract was up? “He said ‘well the contract is up.' I said ‘we'd like to deal with you and Mercedes-Benz. Loyalty means a lot to us.' He said ‘I'm talking with Shell this weekend and think we have a deal. And added we do have a handshake deal.' I was terribly disappointed we couldn't deal. Shell is a competitor. We'd hate to lose it to.”
Ron Dennis added that the deal had to go through Shell's attorneys. Apparently there wasn't a deal.
“He called me on Monday morning. They just had a review with Shell's attorneys and they reneged on some of the details and Ron Dennis is a stickler for detail. Anybody around Ron knows he is details, details, details.”
Dennis was ready to deal with Mobil and asked “‘when could you be over here? I said ‘I could be over tomorrow.''
DeLoach took the night flight over arriving in the UK early the next morning along with Mobil's international contracts attorney. “I'm at his office in Woking before he gets to it,” he added.
Mobil had to get used to the cost of a full-blown Formula One involvement quickly
“A lot of people eating serious costs in their budgets Formula One Racing is not cheap. It was amazing we were able to work those things out in a short period of time. When showed him (Dennis) the responsiveness he appreciated it.”
 |
| Mika Hakkinen, McLaren-Mercedes, in 1998. (Photo: WRi2) |
Ron Dennis needed Mobil because McLaren then current main sponsor, Marlboro, was banned as a tobacco sponsor.
And in getting McLaren to be a business partner “we wound up getting what we wanted at the time Mercedes recommending Mobil 1 in AMG products.”
That was about the same time Norbert Haug (who just retired) came along to head the Mercedes effort in the DTM.
Remember DeLoach's “part-time” job was motorsports. In 1998, he became President of Global Midstream, which included global hydrocarbon supply and trading, marine operations, Middle East relationships and worldwide natural gas sales and marketing.
Around 2000 Mobil was bought out by Exxon which did not have the same passion, or perhaps budget for expensive motorsports programs.
“I had been with Mobil for 31 years. I was 52. You still have a little bit of curiosity going on. I had some of the most fantastic jobs. You get accustomed to a pace and all of a sudden the pace is no more and it's shocking. You are part of processing information and it stops (with emphasis) I didn't retire well.”
That's when the door to NASCAR opened up with Roger Penske.
See Part Two for the Penske Years.