The economic crunch is definitely affecting NASCAR. Sponsors have pulled out of the sport as they tighten their budgets leaving some of the smaller teams struggling to prepare for the 2009 season. With just over two months until the 2009 Daytona 500 NASCAR faces the very real possibility of life without Petty Enterprises. Petty can't find a sponsor for either of their teams including the legendary #43 currently driven by Bobby Labonte.
Petty isn't the only team hit hard. A quick look at Jayski's layoff count shows that since the end of the season almost 600 people have been laid off from NASCAR teams. It's not just the small teams cutting as Earnhardt, Childress, Roush and Gibbs are all making cuts as a result of the economy.
2009 may bring a very different NASCAR. What happens if only 32 cars show up in Daytona for the 500?
Comments
Our country is in a sad state. With the Auto industry. Was I the only one who saw this coming? I Pray that the Nascar can hold thier ground and sponsors step up for one of the best loved sports. Best Wishes Nascar Teams.
If only 32 cars show up for the Daytona 500, I guess the race will be run with 32 cars. What else can be done. Best of luck to the Nascar teams and track owners. Maybe Nascar should get into the banking business so that they could ask the government for a bridge loan to get them through the off season.
It wont be Nascar that will be hurting, it will be race teams. Nascar will still get their money.
One thing nascar can do and i think everyone will agree on. Have you bought a nascar liscensed product lately? If you have look at the label, Made in China!!! Just think of how many jobs the united states would have if they did not out source and cost them pennys to make and charge us $70.00 for a diecast car. Wake up nascar with the $100 doller and higher tickets and help us ameriacns more!!!
yea i agree nascar is to greedy. the fans are what make it go. how about 30.00 tickets and hotels that don’t gouge? this is a wake up call boys and girls. times are tough and its gona be that way , till we buy american . sorry toyota.
we do like we always do keep the american dream living
Isn’t it time to go RETRO? How about eliminating the rules and revert back to the 50’s and 60’s and open NASCAR up to good ole American ingenuity? Also how about getting rid of some of the super tracks were we watch cars going around and around and no car is closer than the distance between Detroit and Nashville. Oops that sound like UAW vs Toyota. Sorry.
I say yes! let em bring back the good old days. They did not have sponsers back then. Just a car bought from their local dealership and slapped a number on the side after driving the new car to the track. Race the crap out of it and hopefully be able to drive it home. Gee wouldn’t that create car sales? I might buy a car that I saw race on sunday that I could drive on monday. Wait, thats the way it used to be, isn’t it. I bet the tickets would be twenty bucks or less. Ahhh give me the good ol days.
If their is only 32 cars I will still be watching. Have you forgot NASCAR is not a sport its a way of LIFE.
olepaw, guess where toyota’s are made these days? in the good ole U.S.A.i also agree with the others; go back to the good ole days. get rid of the driver point, owner points. let the cars qualify like the use to the first 43 or the first 32 whatever it’s going to be this coming season. cut back on the price of the tickets. nascar is killing themselves & i seriously don’t think that they can see this
Yeah anita jo we all get it toyota assebles their cars by using robotic assembly lines in USA so they don’t have to pay import taxes. but the profits and design money still go to Japan. I just worked on one of their assembly plants in Stockton,Ca you are not supporting Americans because they’re “Built here” get over it
And how do you think American cars are made? Most of the parts are from overseas and Chrysler is german owned. Foriegn cars raced in NASCAR back in the good ole days so whats the diff. How many americans are you supporting when you buy all those suvi’s made in China? We are now in a global economy so get used to it.
AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS NTICED THAT OVER THE KAST COUPLE YEARS THAT, WHILE YOU USED TO HARDLY EVER SEE AN EMPTY SEAT AT THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE RACES. NOW THOUGH YOU SEE A LARGE NUMBER OF EMPTY ONES AT NEARLY EVERONE. IN FACT IF YOU NOTICE,, THEY TRY NOT TO SHOW THE STANDS DURING ALOT OF THE TELECASTS. IT STARTED BEFORE THIS ALLEGED FINANCIAL CRISIS TOO. TICKET AND EVENT PRICES HAVE GONE THROUGH THE ROOF, LIKE EVERY OTHER SPORT, ROBBING THE EVERY DAY FAN OF THE CHANCE TO GO TO THESE EVENTS.
I saw the crisis coming a couple of years ago. Several people didn’t realize what effect adjustable interest rates would have on loans. I invested 50.00 to consult a lawyer to explain the small print of what I thought was a deal to good to pass and quickly learned that payments can increase 3 to 500 bucks overnight. Sadly, it is my opinion that without Automaker’s money, NASCAR is history. Being an Auto Tech for most of my life, I know the cost of a vehicle that is built to withstand 5 to 6 hours of abuse without flying to pieces. The price tag of such technology resets every race. Since Dale’s death, I have loast intrest anyhow, it seems to be a high-tech fashion show.
I don’t feel sorry for NASCAR or that idiot that run’s the show (Bill France). The whole sport has priced the average fan right out of attendance. They have turned their back on the southern fan base to cater to yuppies who will never have the dedication of the fan’s that built the sport. I hope that the whole corporate ladder crumbles because of their superior snobbish attitudes that have ruined a grass roots sport. Remember when a family could afford a race trip, I do and I hope those days are forced back to us.