NASCAR ponders life without support of Detroit automakers [w/poll!]

[RSS Robot]

Filed under: Motorsports, Marketing/Advertising, Chrysler, LLC., Ford, GM, Toyota, Earnings/Financials


Car and Driver's April Fools' Day joke about President Obama ordering the Detroit 3 automakers out of stock car racing has apparently got NASCAR officials pondering the ramifications of such a mass exodus. Suffice it to say, they are not laughing. Jeff Burton, driver of a Chevrolet-badged racecar for Richard Childress Racing, said, "I think the climate that we're in today, it would be poor business to not look at the worst-case scenarios." Of course, he's right.

So, what would happen if one or more of the American automakers were to pull their official support from NASCAR? According to NASCAR itself, "the results would be far from debilitating." While none of the teams or tracks want to see funding from General Motors or Chrysler go away, it's not the only source of income to be tapped. Plus, Ford and Toyota are in no immediate danger of going belly up, and they haven't given any indications that they are planning to withdraw from NASCAR. Of course, if GM and/or Chrysler's revenue stream for the series dries up, we could see the remaining parties balking at sponsorship costs...

Be sure to cast your vote on whether you expect to see one or more automakers exit NASCAR this season in the poll below.

View Poll

[Source: NASCAR.COM | Photo: Wayne Whaley]NASCAR ponders life without support of Detroit automakers [w/poll!] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


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[KULTULZ]

I stopped watching NASCAR many years ago. Wouldn't phase me a bit.

[Guest]

Hey KULTULZ,
It's not what it used to be. The days of the good old boys are over. They seem to forget it's old redneck guys like me that put then where they are. All they worried about is these corporate guys and these guys don't give a s#@t about no body, nothing and not NASCAR. All they care about is there **** money. We used to go to a race on Sunday and be home late Sunday night, and be at work Monday morning. Not any more, when they start a race at 2:00 or 3:00.
Jeff Gordon made the comment earlier this year "we done need the auto makers to help back us" Well we will see. He has made several million, what about these young guys just starting out.
Next time there is a race and the camera pans around check out the stands, they are empty.
Rubbing is racing, there not rubbin there not racing. If I want to see follow the leader I will go sit beside the interstate.

[KULTULZ]

It's all money now and no sport. Who cares which car maker will sponsor as they all look alike and are actual fabricated race cars instead of stock cars many years ago.

We would race on a FRI night at one track and tow down to another on SAT night.

[Guest]

HEY KULTULZ,
Nice picture!
Thats when it was stock car racing.
I remember back in the mid to late seventies. They would take a production car. (1978 Thunderbird for example) Tack weld the door shut. Cut the end of the bumpers, pull them in and reweld them. Run bigger tires on the right side (so they would turn better in the turns. Hop up a engine, add roll bars and very few modifications and go racing. The drivers back then would man handle these cars. If they wanted to lead and could not get you out of the way, they would move you out of the way, with that chrome horn they called the bumper.
Today they might as well be running slot cars. Make them remote control and let the drivers set above the stands and drive these slot cars from there.