Then again ...

On the morning of the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway, there was an eye-catching breakfast gathering at Doc Bales' restaurant in the Hilton Ocean Walk hotel.

The group at a large table, front and center, included Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates, owners of the NASCAR organization that bears both their names, along with Michael Waltrip Racing executive vice president Cal Wells and Michael Waltrip's partner and money man, Rob Kauffman.

"Rob Kauffman said he wanted to meet Chip and me," Sabates said matter-of-factly at the Speedway later that afternoon.

Indeed, you could construe the meeting as a convivial breakfast between men with common interests. Ganassi and Wells have a history together in the open-wheel ranks, where Ganassi is a titan, with two Indianapolis 500 victories and an Indy Racing League title to his credit.

Kauffman, who lives in London, owns an automobile restoration shop, RK Collection, located right around the corner from Ganassi's race shop in Concord, N.C.

"In fact, when I was looking around to figure out how to configure (the shop) and looking for ideas on how to set up the flooring and the lighting, I actually got a tour of his facility," Kauffman said Saturday evening after the drivers' meeting at Daytona.

So let's just take the breakfast conclave at face value.

--(Cont'd From Front Page)-- Maybe.

Perhaps we should consider the backdrop. Ganassi recently shuttered his No. 40 Dodge Cup team, leaving open-wheel star Dario Franchitti to ponder his future in the sport. That left Ganassi with two active Cup teams and roughly 70 fewer employees, with more layoffs reportedly in the offing.

As to Waltrip, after a pit strategy call that propelled him to a second-place finish June 29 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the owner/driver made the following comment: "I'm going to slip out here with my 170 points (and) 150 grand, start putting some patches on a sinking ship, what has felt like a sinking ship, for a year or so."

Waltrip's perception is no illusion. MWR has struggled, but Kauffman, whose purchase of an interest in the team was announced last October, has been a good influence, given his ability to concentrate on the organization's core mission. For one thing, he convinced Waltrip to jettison his involvement in the ARCA Series.

"Let's cut it down to the Cup team, run a Nationwide car and just focus," Kauffman said. "I'm a big fan of focusing on what you need to get done, and these guys are doing a good job."

But not without pain. There have been layoffs and a realignment of personnel at MWR. To Kauffman, that's a natural process for a team that raced for the first time in 2007.

"They put the team together so quickly," he said. "They achieved a lot, but now you have to start, 'OK, is this the right team in this area,' shuffling (the staff) around and trying to get it right."

The issue of sponsorship is fundamental. UPS will leave Waltrip at the end of this season, likely finding a new home with Clint Bowyer at Richard Childress Racing, now that Bowyer has extended his contract with RCR.

That leaves Waltrip with NAPA on his No. 55 car and Aaron's as part-time sponsor of Michael McDowell's No. 00. If additional sponsorship isn't forthcoming, Waltrip will have funding for two cars, the same number Ganassi now has.

"It's definitely a tough economic environment, and it'll be interesting to see how things shake out here," Kauffman said. "You've got to think that sponsors will tighten up even further, and it doesn't work just writing checks out of your pocket. It's too expensive a business to make that work really well."

The co-founder and manager of European operations for Fortress Investment Group, Kauffman acknowledges the obvious, it's more efficient economically to run a four-car operation and share costs than to run a single-car operation. Nor has he missed the apparent trend toward consolidation in the stock car racing business, where mergers, acquisitions and strategic partnerships have dominated the headlines.

"It seems like that's the trend," he said. "I think that having this four-car limit (per organization, as mandated by NASCAR) is probably a good idea, or they would just consolidate into a very small number, so I think that puts some parameter on it. Whoever came up with that idea -- I think that was a good idea.

"There's definitely an economy of scale. I'm kind of a numbers guy, and we've been through the numbers. ... You want to get to a three- or four-car team, because you'll have the most benefit."

Would it be too far-fetched to speculate that Waltrip and Ganassi might benefit by joining forces in some way, each bringing two teams to the table? Asked whether he might find a deal with Ganassi intriguing under the right circumstances, Kauffman deflected the question.

"That's a highly speculative, theoretical thing," he said. "We just wanted to have breakfast with Felix and Chip, more than anything. We have a lot of common friends down in the North Carolina area. ... I think getting MWR on the right track and solidifying our position on the grid and improving our performance -- that's job one, two and three."

Kauffman asked rhetorically whether the group would have met openly if they were talking about a deal.

Probably not.

Then again, maybe so -- if only to be able to ask that question.

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