NASCAR ponders life without support of Detroit automakers [w/poll!]
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.
[Source: NASCAR.COM | Photo: Wayne Whaley]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
racewithferrari 5:01PM (4/10/2009)
Nascar really sucks ! According to me nascar has no thrills, fun, sliding etc. It just has high speed cars going on oval track.
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zamafir 5:07PM (4/10/2009)
oh come on, all other races, like LeMans, have given us are seatbelts, headlights, disc brakes, and a stupid 24 hour endurance race. 200 mph for 24 hours with right and left turns requires no skill, that's why NASCAR drivers always win the race of champions.
Someone preserve nascar already, it's a national treasure, and that direct correlation between the cars on the oval and the street has done wonders to keep 2 of the big 3 beyond profitable.
...
is it miller time yet?
VP 5:09PM (4/10/2009)
A F1 fan talking about fun? What is so much fun about a parade? See i can make asinine comments too.
Coming back to the original topic i think all three manufacturers will be around for THIS season. Even into the future, GM even if bankrupt has to spend money on marketing and NASCAR gives them some of the best bang for their buck.
Rob 5:22PM (4/10/2009)
WRC used to be fun. Now it's not worth watching. Touring car championships are the only thing that even interests me. Nascar is HORRID. Let Nascar die, and go back to racing cars that are actually like the ones you buy in the showroom. It'd be a lot more fun anyway.
Jared 11:07PM (4/12/2009)
@Rob:
Truth! Nascar became popular because they used showroom looking cars. People saw the Challenger racing a Thunderbird and whichever one won that weekend, that was the one they would go buy. Now adays they are all the same vehicle except for decals on the front.
If anything, the Big3 should drop Nascar, and support american road racing. That way, they would have a Perfect test bed for products for their performance divisions (which always trickles down), and they would maintain their public image.
Brent 5:17PM (4/10/2009)
They really need to use production cars. Would be sweet to see them explode and crash. haha
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Kumail 5:24PM (4/10/2009)
You do know that people actually drive those cars and they can die right?
My uncle is actually in Arca (like the d-league for Nascar) and might be moving up soon.
It might not look that exciting on tv (never was a fan of Nascar myself), but when you down to the pits and stuff, its pretty cool. Its not my favorite "sport" in the world, far from it, but being at a race is amazing.
catgirlshyla 12:50AM (4/11/2009)
Well he is right to an extent. Instead of having the CoT, why not go back to NASCAR's roots and start with honest-to-god production models and then convert them to racing duty? How did that saying go: "Race on Sunday, Drive on Monday?"
Unless Toyota is willing to produce a 800BHP RWD Camry.
Pffft. Lexus would have a Toyota Century-Based Saloon long before that will happen.
Tim 5:22PM (4/10/2009)
NASCAR as it exists today is done. Dodge will definitely pull out and Chevy will follow in a few years. More importantly is the macro economy. Advertisers will not want to sponsor a sport with an aging and shrinking fan base. Not when advertising dollars are increasingly precious. Nascar outside of the US is not popular, heck outside the south and southwest there is little support for the sport. My advice short ISCA International Motor Speedway and move along.
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Marc 8:37PM (4/10/2009)
Yeah, that's the ticket, no one likes the sport except in the locations you note.
But... how do you explain every event held at New Hampshire Speedway selling out even in these hard times.
tekd 9:44PM (4/10/2009)
@Marc
Come on Marc, you know as well as I do that there's nothing else to do in New Hampshire. Not in the warmer months anyway.
Well I guess you could go shopping since there's no sales tax, lol.
Nick 12:26PM (4/11/2009)
You are aware the avg recession lasts only 18 months. GM and Chrysler will come back from the dead and the ad dollars will flow again. Please stop talking out of your ass, even F1 is struggling, they have half as many races and half as many cars and still no passing.
adam 5:25PM (4/10/2009)
seeing with more prodution cars (more like the FIA GT in the UK) would be much better... but i'll admit that NASCAR can be entertaining! even if it is boring at times...
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John 5:26PM (4/10/2009)
With Obama running GM and Chrysler and backing the hippie-dippie greenie nuts, I'll bet it is almost a certainty that Obama will shut down GM and Chrysler's racing programs. If Obama fails to get his "Cap and Tax Your Ass Off" agenda through Congress this year, he will need to beat up something carbon related so he can show how tough he is on Global Warming.
This year he'll pull GM and Chrysler and next year ban all non-EV racing.
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Kattleox 5:29PM (4/10/2009)
Until Hudson comes back to claim the rightful throne of NASCAR champion with supercharged straight sixes and average Joe's in polo shirts with faceless bubble helmets and bench seats ruling the track, I won't care about NASCAR again. I also think that the guv won't let GM spent its dimes on the stuff, and Chrysler is in no position to try, which would leave Ford at the helm, and I don't know if they would even care at that point. All I know is that this season will have a whoole lot fewer fans.
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Sozo 5:29PM (4/10/2009)
I don't know that anyone will pull funding but they need to. If you can't run your business without government help, and bankruptcy you don't need to be funding someone else.
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Conundrum 5:34PM (4/10/2009)
"DRIVERS... START YOUR FUSIONS!"
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Tommy 11:57PM (4/10/2009)
WHAT?!? Car of tomorrow? Carbureted? I'll keep my car of today thank you very much!
jk
but seriously, NASCAR COULD be a great sport. It hasn't been worth watching since the 1970's, when the cars were based on real cars, and they pushed the boundaries of automotive technology, much like Le Mans still does. Now they look nothing like the real cars people drive. I heard a suggestion once that NASCAR should use the new Mustang, Camaro, and Challenger as the cars and not just race on oval tracks, but all kinds of comparable tracks(circuits, oval, point to point on road rallies, etc.). Its name is just racing in general, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. Infineon raceway is a great start, we need different kinds of racetracks, cars, and technologies. Otherwise put it out of its misery
nvygw171 5:47PM (4/10/2009)
Nascar... hmm. To each his own. To me
WWE=Nascar
UFC=FIA GT
Not that I think we have anything on the honkier members of our society but every time a Nascar camera pans to the audience I cant help but place my head in my hands. I shouldn't feel bad for them but i do. Sorta like a special person running around naked, yeah there naked but they don't know it, so why do i still feel bad for them.
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Elmo 7:01PM (4/10/2009)
can i ask how in the hell NASCAR is comparable to a staged and scripted source of entertainment? because if i remember correctly, NASCAR is an actual SPORT and not a stage act. there is no predetermined winners, there is no script, nor is there soup opera drama going on.
every one of you ignorant retards who like to talk major trash about NASCAR, i'd REALLY like to see you take a 3400lb, 800hp, 200+mph car around a track through 31 degree banked turns with 42 other cars around you in the span of close to 5 hours.