Can anyone predict what is in store for the world of NASCAR in the coming years. Better yet, what will the 2009 Season hold in store for us? Sure, the economy has really gone downhill and noone can say when it will ever be able to crawl out of the hole. Heck, our country has been in a recession now for 14 months and it is no surprise that NASCAR is feeling the pain. You can read all these stories about how NASCAR is cutting back testing to save millions and you can read about teams that are laying off people but is it really any surprise to anyone to see this happening. Lets be for real here, we all saw how the attendance numbers were falling throughout the year in that people had just cut back on expenses which included extra curricular activities. There are people losing their jobs and their houses left and right. We are seeing the Big 3 auto makers about to go under unless the Federal government bails them out. We could see the worst holiday spending ever in history but Brian France seems to have a vision that NASCAR will not suffer. Oh please Brian, that is easy for you to say when you have millions of dollars in your bank account along with all the top drivers in the sport. It is not the drivers in the sport that are in jeopardy of their jobs, it is those people that you never hear of that keep the car on the track and make it all come together, those are the people that are going to suffer the most but they should of seen it coming all season. There was an article on yahoo talking about the crews of these teams and how Jeff Burton said that these people rely on their paychecks to pay their bills, well I hate to say it but it is reality and if these people were smart, they would have a backup plan.
It gets very tiresome to hear about the money problems in NASCAR. When you tally up how much it costs to run a team it is really shocking. If a major sponsor wants to have their name on the hood of the car, they are going to pay at least $12-$15 million dollars a year. That is pretty steep just to have your name on the hood. Lets not forget about tires, gas, and all the traveling. We are just talking about the top series of the sport, what about the Nationwide and Truck series, how long will they be able to last in the declining economy?
I have been an avid fan of NASCAR for quite a few years but with all the money that this sport rakes in, I find it hard for me to find a soft spot in my heart when I hear them talking about all the problems they are experiencing. All of us are worried about where our economy is going and will we have our job when we wake up the next morning. Americans are cutting back on their spending and unfortunately NASCAR is feeling it and I can only imagine what 2009 will be like for the sport. NASCAR is in for a rude awakening but is this really a surprise to anyone?
What say you?
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