Economic Uncertainity Keeps NASCAR Fans Home and Teams Scrambling For Sponsors

With today's economic uncertainty and families struggling to get by, for the first time in a long time, NASCAR is feeling the pinch.

Recently Chip Ganassi announced that they were closing shop on Dario Franchitti's No. 40.

Due to lack of sponsorship, Franchitti never gave his sponsors enough performance to believe that their investment in that team was worth the money.

Last week came the news that Juan Pablo Montoya's No. 42 will lose its longtime sponsor Texaco Havoline after a long relationship with NASCAR.

This now leaves Chip Ganassi and company searching for new sponsors for JPM and and a new driver for the No. 41 after Reed Sorenson announced his intentions to leave Ganassi and drive for Gillett Evernham Motorsports in 2009.

Overall, the team has just three top fives and five top 10's in 2008. Performance is everything.

Toyota is another fine example in the fine line teams are walking when it comes to sponsors.

Joe Gibbs Racing changed over to Toyota in 2008 and the transition was questioned by everyone but the organization.

Now we are entering the Chase and Kyle Busch has won eight races and Denny Hamlin has won once. While he has yet to win, Tony Stewart has run strong and is securely in the Chase.

With strong support from M&M's, Fed Ex, and Home Depot as their primary sponsors and with Busch, Hamlin, and Stewart's cars continually running up front—their names and sponsors being mentioned or seen every race—these three teams are securing their sponsors for a long time to come without even knowing it.

When you cross that line, you have organizations like Michael Waltrip Racing.

They also run Toyotas, but their performance on the track is anything but consistent.

David Ruetimann, Michael Waltrip, and Michael McDowell have struggled to stay in the top 35 in points which would guarantee them a spot in the next race. 

With such a poor showing on race day, many of the team's once strong sponsors are looking for a new car to put their name on.

UPS has been rumored to be leaving Rueitmann's #44 and potentially signing with David Ragan in 2009. McDowell potentially has no sponsor for 2009, leaving MWR searching for a name to put on their cars in 2009.

For smaller teams, the economy leaves too many questions.

Yates Racing—which fields Travis Kvapil and David Gilliland—have been running many of their races without main sponsors. Even so, they have been running in the top 15 all season long and currently sitting comfortably in the top 35.

But uncertainty lies ahead for them as they have no sponsors going into 2009.

Small organizations like this are few and far between.

NASCAR is all about big business and teams like JGR, Hendrick Motor Sports, and Roush Fenway Racing that have cars consistently in the top 10, leaving teams with one or two car operations struggling to keep up with the lack of cash flow and lack of information coming from within the organization.

Coming to the track on Sunday and running well means more than ever. And if something is not working within your organization, you have to make a change.

Larry McReynolds said earlier this year at Richmond, "with the pressure to perform, there is no growing time, it's either you are there or you have to make a change."

It seems many drivers have taken that to heart, leaving current situations for much greener pastures.

Ryan Newman, who has been with Penske Racing South for his entire NASCAR career, announced late last month that he will be leaving PRS and joining Tony Stewart in the newly formed Stewart Haas Racing in 2009.

Newman has been very vocal in his disappointment in the performance of the Penske Dodges. Other than having one win in at the 2009 Daytona 500 in February, he only has two top fives and eight top 10's this season coming into Richmond this weekend.

Car manufacturers are struggling just as much.

With dropping sales across the nation America's big three automakers are struggling to keep up with foreign manufacturers who can provide better fuel mileage and better quality.

With this concern, manufacturers in NASCAR are reviewing their involvement in the sport and how much money they are fiscally able to contribute.

While NASCAR executives are not worried, they are cautious and are keeping an eye on that situation. They have strong relationships with these manufacturers and keeping them happy is important to the health of the sport.

Drivers are not the only ones feeling the pinch in these tough economic times.

Fans, the heart and soul of this sport, are staying home and watching the races on TV instead of spending the money on tickets, gas, food, and souvenirs. 

With the races having less and less action after a drop of the green flag this year, staying at home allows fans to turn off the TV and tune back in with 50 to go and not waste their time, and more importantly their money, at the track.

With fans staying home, that means sponsors are losing big business at the track. If fans don't show up, who is going to buy their product?

We are their number one client, NASCAR is a brand loyal sport. For example, I only drink Pepsi products and, yes, I use DuPont products.

To an average person I sound insane. But I am brand loyal to my driver Jeff Gordon and without people like me, sponsors lose big money with empty seats.

Even the drivers are cutting back when it comes to the personal side of racing, private jets are not sitting fueled and ready to fly drivers back and forth throughout a cup weekend.

Fewer employees flying with the teams to races cuts back on hotel, rental cars, and overall cost.

Only time will tell what the overall impact of this down economy will have on this sport. But like all things, it will get better.

Will it mean smaller organizations becoming nonexistent, or will it mean tracks lowering ticket prices to accommodate the struggling race fan?

But hard core fans will be there, either on the couch watching the race or sitting in the stands, instead of attending multiple races a year they will cut back to maybe one or two. They will buy their favorite team's driver apparel and gear. Just not as much of it and not at the track where it can cost twice as much.

So the fans will be there, it's just a matter of will the sponsors.