Official PR: Shorty's Situation
Monday, January 28, 2013 | 8:25 PM
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PrintWe received this press release from Andrew Short Racing this evening. It only really confirms what we already know, but, here's the official word:
Andrew Short PR
After an incredible 6th place ride on a production based bike in Oakland, Andrew Short finally has time to bring his fans current with his situation. Effective as of last week, long-time crowd favorite Andrew Short and L&Mc Racing, LLC have parted ways. “This has been one of the most challenging experiences of my life. I’m looking forward to see what the next chapter in my career will become. Personally, I can’t wait to see what lies in front of me!”
Andrew wishes to convey his personal gratitude to all the parties who have worked hard to support his success on the racetrack. In particular, special thanks go to American Honda, Fly Racing, Western Power Sports, Scott USA, and Alpinestars.
Always one to put on a smile and see the positive, Andrew is undeterred and working around the clock to find a solution and continue a stellar 2013 season.
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Holeshot!!
Just like a TLD Honda!
Wish we knew the real story? What's the future???
RCH sould consider picking him up. Solid rider with a great work ethic. Not the JH and BT aren't good, AS is a soild guy and if anyone could use a ride i would say it goes to him. Ok its not the Honda he knows, but he rode a Katoom for a while and did just fine. Suk will be a good change up. GO SHORTY!!
Well the first sentence says from "Andrew Short racing". Think he's going to go it on his own maybe?
Brooks and McGrath are a joke. Quitting 4 races in the series, really? Sad to see Shorty becoming the victim of their corruption. Hope Andrew takes his contract to court and gets every dime owed to him.
I guess FMF doesnt do much for riders why isnt there an FMF backed race team? you have yoshimura and procircuit why not an fmf team? notice he didnt thank them even though he used their pipe this weekend is a free pipe the most they are willing to give
Brooks and McGrath are a joke !! You got that right..Hey if they thought there selection was going to bring them a podium,they must of been on crack ..I like Andrew dont get me wrong but they were really winging it..They should know better ... If its a Brooks thing than McGrath is a 7 time douch'e
short should sue their asses people on both sides(riders and teams) need to start honoring contracts
Hell I could of did a better release in my sleep...Where is my agent!
L&Mc; couldn't fulfill their contractual obligations to Short because they didn't have the money. When Short was signed, the team had Supercross.com (whatever that is) paying most of the costs as a title sponsor, McGrath himself, I would bet, had a large chunk of his money invested in the team as well. It takes several million dollars to run a factory effort a year and even someone like McGrath can't fund that much out of pocket. The team almost folded last year when the team just stopped getting funds from Supercross.com and was fortunate to have Chaparral step up to help fund the team through last year and part of this year, but Chaparral alone wasn't able to fully foot the note. McGrath and Brooks have been working for the last several months to find more sponsors to keep the operation afloat, but weren't able to do so. The team shutting down was just a necessary event when they ran out of money, what were McGrath and Brooks supposed to do, get a loan to pay to go to the races? What bank would have given them that? On top of that, if you've ever read McGrath's autobiography, you'd know that, compared to RV, RD, Stewart, and Reed, McGrath really didn't make that much during his career--his salary from Yamaha was $700,000 a year.
This is an unfortunate situation all around, but you really can't place the blame on McGrath and Brooks beyond saying that they had an unreliable team sponsor when they started the team.
That being said, I applaud Short on his performance this weekend, truly remarkable considering what he was working with. I also wish the best to all the other team personnel who are now out of a job--it's a tough industry to be in right now.
McGrath had little if any money in this team. He basically lent his name to the operation to help with sponsorship. On a radio show the hosts asked Jeremy once if he would like to give a shout out to the team sponsors and he couldn't even remember who they were.
Larry Brooks is the guy running (ruining) everything. It's hard to call it a coincidence when he's been associated with this many failing teams. Ask Chad Reed or James Stewart what they think about this, I doubt they are surprised.
At least when Jeff Ward Racing shut down and they had already signed Wilson, they pulled the plug early in October to give him a chance to find a new ride. They also let Josh Grant know around August last year that the team may not be around
Also last week JDR KTM announced they would shut down at the end of supercross at least giving their riders a chance to get things together in advance for outdoors.
The way this team went about things seems pretty classless. Short maybe should have asked more questions before commiting another year to them, especially after their same issues last year.
Common denominator... Brooks.
If you have a rider and Brooks comes around... RUN!
Common denominator... Brooks.
If you have a rider and Brooks comes around...RUN!!!!!!!
Would be a solid pick up and fan favorite for any team with room or a hole to fill.... RCH seems best fit .. Great equipment and poor results.. They could use a for sure 5-8 place guy 6th in the points just to stable that team .. Both sides might have to stretch a little but both need the other one right now this week
Stock, factory, in-between, 350, 450, orange, red, whatever. Andrew is a lock on consistent 6th-8th place finishes each round. Get him while the PR iron is hot and get those sponsors some media exposure!
If one believes all of the rumors around this situation it goes something like this:
Team starts up in fall of 2011. Brooks has San Manuel on board initially but they pull back/out. McGrath is there mostly as a name and the "in" to getting a works bike from Honda. Supercross.com comes on as tittle sponsor but are they really putting in all the money? Or was there some annulment money between Brooks and San Manuel??
Supercross.com pulls out, but Chapparal comes on board to save the 2012 season mid-way through SX. Initially it is all back slaps and high fives - Chapparal is back in the sport and everyone seems happy. But obviously there was a money issue still lingering. During the off-season it seems all status quo and the team looks to be OK for 2013, then right before A1 the rumors start running that things are coming undone.
The common denominator in this story and others is BROOKS. I have no idea of exactly what was going on but I suspect he was running around all through the off-season trying to pull together enough money. Was Shorty aware of the troubles? I'm sure he was, but at the same time there were not a lot of other rides available and he really wants to be on a Honda. So I think that is why he stuck it out. I'm reasonably certain Brooks might have been feeding him and MC some BS about potential sponsorship to keep things stringing along....until the bottom fell out.
Best case scenario for Short is that he gets enough support to start up his own venture, and gets enough $$ to lease his works bikes back from Honda. Pretty tough to have to pull all this together in the middle of the season. Good on Shorty and his family for making the commitment to try to salvage the season. And good for those sponsors who are sticking with him like FMF, Fly, etc.
RCH is a joke. What was RC thinking when he teamed up with a want-a-be
Carey Hart who's only worry is getting Tatoo'd nobodies under his circus tent.
Short has to much Class for that operation anyway. I'm sure he'd take it if offered,
but Captian Dunkin Donuts and Hart have their own problems with keeping
double flipping Hill healthy.
Are these sponsors contract not structured for a guranteed length ?
Not much of a finger pointer but...........there are alot of torched deals around Brooks.
JimM
Pala374
I like how people on here and all the social media is like "team ABC should pick him up" "why dont XYZ give him a ride" These teams are a buisness, and run off budgets. they dont have a year round open pocket book to hire extra riders, especially a rider of Shorts caliber. What Genova say last night it would take 250k minus salary to add someone like short to a team.
One more thing, does anyone else find it interesting that Chapparal is running TV spots on the CBS broadcasts but at the same pulling out of sponsorship of this team?
I think this is a bit more complicated. Brooks had a very good relationship with Mike Kranyak. They ran a successful team that won Titles with Reed and Stewart and did not have sponsorship or funding issues. The trouble started when JSE (James Stewart Entertainment) bought out Brooks and then partnered with Kranyak. I believe it was said that Brooks was shown the door because he and James Sr disagreed on how to run the Team. As many of you know, JS pulled out of that deal after 4 races but I believe the wedge was driven between Brooks and Kranyak.
Brooks and Kranyak separate have been nowhere as stable or successful as L & M together. What happened with Short I believe is simply a product of resources being divided and those two guys looking for funding from the same people/companies for 2 teams now instead of one. Brooks may be a bit caustic and overly competitive but he certainly knows the sport and how to run a team like a business.
Everyone has talked about Milsaps riding his stock Suzuki to a points lead, but it is SO awful that Short has to ride this bone stock POS Honda, yet he places 6th. So what would he have placed if he was on a factory bike = 6th. And what will he place if the field doesn't go down in the second turn = 10th. Just ride dude, seems to be working for Davi.
What I see is when major bike manufacturers are not selling bikes today like they were in a good economy, the burden that falls on the smaller accessory companies to cover the $$$ gap becomes a slippery slope and riders like Shorty (or anybody) find themselves on the outside looking in.
This SX industry is alive right now because they can fill 70,000 screaming fans capacity stadiums and sell hot-dogs and beer for 20 bucks each It seems there could be some business plan as Nascar has done and spread the wealth so the riders can exist.
Advertising based industries need $$$ to exist. And advertising budgets are the first to be cut when times are slow. The industry needs re-tooling somehow in this trying economy.
Good luck to Andrew in finding a new home!
I know most here are right wingers who blame the economy for every thing possible, but the solution to avoiding this in the future is a rider's union. Employers would be forced to avoid this at all costs, and when this happens an employee would be properly compensated.
Not to mix subjects but to listen to Chad Reed complain about his bike to then see what Shorty did this past weekend makes Chad look like a chump. I had come around on Chad in 2011 and 2012 but 2013 is throwback Chad...everyone is out to get him, bike sucks, etc. .
Go get em Shorty.
What bad economy TripCarlyle? I'm right with you. Those damn right wingers. Take a look around... bike sales are up, the government is taking less and less, gas prices aren't really that bad, consumer confidence is on the up, air travel is at an all-time low, and real estate couldn't be better. I feel guilty about it, really.
The 'good ole days' of the early 2000's Reed, Stewart, Windham, and even Heath Voss speak of was really a conspiracy masterminded by George Bush and the Koch brothers. They had to go along with it for fear they would be water boarded under Soldier Field, next to the carbonite-encased Hoffa.
Brooks does appear to have a very Enron way of running things. Keep buffaloing people with bs an try to bluff your way along until the writing is on the wall. This lack of honesty tends to piss people off. I'm sure he has good intentions, but his method clearly does not work.
Trip... Union? Right wingers don't blame the economy, the left does. Right wingers usually blame policy. Independents like myself usually blame idiots like you who follow others and think choosing a side is best. The answer to this is not a union, the answer is Shorty twisting it further. If I was his mechanic I'd take the throttle off and replace it with a button labeled fast gear. Its either fast gear or fade.
Shorty is a great rider but his problems are caused by himself not being as fast as he wants to be in a very competitive field. If he was fast, he'd be a KTM rider or still on a Honda with the factory team. Dollars follow talent. In all these types of sports you either have it or don't. If you can't wick it up during the sprints, you'll never be a winner unless its a fluke and everyone knows it. This is why Davalos has a ride and others that may finish consistently in points ahead of him don't. Same with the rest of the field.
Nowadays you have to have the sprint speed and the personality to market for a company to put money on the table. Short doesn't have all of it anymore. Everyone likes him but who would you rather watch, Barcia or Short? You know Barcia is going to push it, be the badass and bust himself up. A sponsor sees the same thing. I'll repeat myself so it can get through your liberal head that always thinks its always some rich guys fault and not their own, "You have to have it all now or no money is flowing your way." This is why Windham retired. His sprint speed is no longer there because his melon won't let him. He said it himself by saying "unless its a mud race, I don't have it." Yea, he's got the fan base, the bike, pretty much everything a factory guy has, but not the speed anymore.
Unions protect the weak who never have had it. And FYI: Contracts are upheld by current laws that are already on the books. If they folded with bankruptcy protection, all contracts are void. What the heck would a union be able to do about it? Nothing!
I say give Short, Windham's bike. He knows the Honda already and will be near the same finish position as Windham. Save Tomac for next year, don't risk his west coast 250 bid. nuff said.
What happens when the energy drinks start pulling out?
It sounds like Brooks started the whole team with nothing but a promise from San Manuel. How does a major sponsor "pull-out" unless there is no agreement in place? I would hope all these other teams have agreements (contracts) with sponsors. I'm sure Monster has a clause that would allow them to "pull-out" but it isn't as simple as just deciding to. Seems Brooks was patchworking things together for all this time and still went into this year like a person with a gambling problem trying to come up with next month's rent. How perilous must the situation have been that they couldn't even make all the California rounds when there are another 12 or so rounds all over the country? They should have pulled the plug last fall like Wardy did when the writing was on the wall.
Short is a great guy, no tats, doesn't get arrested, no behavioral problems. Just a hard worker. Any team would and should be proud to sponsor him. Heck, he's beating big factory teams with a fricken stock bike.
Man, shorty if I had the money I'd sponor you. Good luck and kick butt. Hopefully the rest will take care of its self.
My motto is, when 1 door closes another one opens.
So let me get this straight...Genova can support a full team with the best equipment there is to offer selling Jacuzzi covers by himself, but Chaparral, the largest f'ing retail motorcycle store in the world can't foot the bill for the remainder of the SX season for one rider?
If you don't think Chap couldn't fully fund this team the remainder of the SX seaons, you're on crack. Walk into their showroom any given day of the week and you'll find at least 3 hispanic families with a cart full of Fox gear and sh!t for their quads and at least 5 bros buying as much Unit and Metal Mulisha gear as they can get their hands on. Let's not forget all the streetbike stuntaz loading up on colored billet accessories and they sell enough tires to build a skyscraper of rubber daily. I bet if Chap offered a Tattoo service, there would be a line out the door. Bottom line, that place isn't hurting for cash and there's no reason Shorty shouldn't still be on a Factory Honda with Chaparral Graphics.
@Colbsdad... @Jake... pretty sure nobody went bankrupt, maybe if they paid Short they'd be bankrupt, but that's why they left him in the cold. So no need for a riders union then? A star rider gets the boot cause 'the economy is bad'?
Is that really how you guys think?
I mean no harm to Short with this. I like the guy, but he's not on the level of some of the other guys as far as speed goes.
@Trip... yeaup! Its funny how so many people always blame someone else for their problems. Also funny how those same people think someone else's success should be shared. Think of it this way, if Short would have came out and killed it at the 1st Anaheim, you don't think they may have had a better chance at securing a longer term deal with a sponsor? Its true that Short is a star rider that was let go from Honda and KTM and left himself with little opportunities elsewhere all because his speed is a tick off from his competitors that win. You are also right that he is a star rider who has successfully built his image as a the clean guy, wide as hell in the race line, but also the guy who doesn't have the lighting sprint speed. So like I said before, he is missing one of the components that are essential to making money in this sport. He doesn't have the sprint speed to win and doesn't get TV time that a sponsor can see a ROI on. What you keep saying is that even though he doesn't have all the components a sponsor wants, he should be protected by a union just because he is Short. Would you take your own money and sponsor a guy who doesn't get TV time?