Automaker to Pull Out of NASCAR Soon

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Leftlanenews.com
One U.S. automaker is planning to pull out of NASCAR, according to a published report. The automaker — which has not been named — has been contemplating its departure from the racing series for some time, and recently plotted a timetable for its pullout. According to AutoExtremist, each U.S. automaker spends about $140 million each annually to participate in NASCAR.
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I wonder who it is?

GM? No, Chevrolet is doing too well almost every year. Dale Jr. and Tony Stewart are too valueable behind the wheel of the Monte Carlo, and with the RWD Zeta models on the way, I couldn't think of a better way to introduce them.

Ford? Its a toughie, I can't call it either way. Ford has been doing really well with the Rousch efforts, but I suppose thats about it. The article talks about a comitment to the IRL/Champ, ALMS, and LeMans... All areas Ford has been attempting to get into. But with all the money dumped in with the new Fusion, I don't know...

DCX? I'd say that is the best bet. Their success has been lukewarm, and the technical issues have driven several of the teams crazy. But as of late, Kasey Kahne has been doing really well, as well as the Penske cars. Again, who knows?

Apparently the news will be offical a few weeks from now...
 
Yeah this is pretty interesting. Mulsanne just posted this in the 24 Hours of Le Mans Entry List discussion, and I was thinking Chrysler as well. Apparently, the article mentioned that this automaker is looking at other forms of motorsports, perhaps sportscar racing. As a sportscar guy myself, I see this as good news. I would love to see the new SRT-10 coupe compete against the Corvettes and Aston Martins. I'm curious to find out if it is in fact DCX. My next guess would be Ford.
 
Chrysler, however, is widely regarded to be in the best shape financially. If I was Bill Ford or Rick Wagoner, I'd be taking a good, hard look at the logic behind spending $140 million a year to put my company's name on a barely-recognizable sheetmetal blob chock full of 1950s and '60s technology...But that's just my opinion.
 
The article is here: http://www.autoextremist.com/page3.shtml#fumes

From the article:
The fact that it has finally come to this is no real surprise. Several years ago, we pieced together evidence that each of the Detroit-based car companies were spending in the neighborhood of $140 million each, annually, on their NASCAR endeavors. That figure accounts for engineering and wind-tunnel work, direct payments to the teams, personal services contracts with the drivers, promotional programs, race sponsorships, advertising, etc., etc. In the Big Picture of things, when multinational companies are spending double that amount for the "privilege" of competing in Formula 1, that would seem like no big deal, but taking into account the factors that matter most to the Detroit car companies right now, that dollar figure is a very big deal.

With the financial troubles the "Big Three" are in right now, I can't see the logic in spending $140 million annually on something that bears less and less resemblence to cars they actually produce for the road. But I guess it's the perception that counts, not the reality.

BTW, in a recent column about the Audi R10 on speedtv.com, David Phillips mentioned "NASCAR’s bold move into the 1970s with plans to introduce unleaded gasoline." :D
 
Yeah, the change to Unleaded is a pretty radical move. What will they think of next, letting a foreign car company compete?

It is a tough call to make, but the only reason why DCX isnt in any trouble is because of Mercedes' deep pockets. GM and Ford may have some financial problems, but they have carried the sport since it's inception with factory-backed teams and the like. If one of the two were to pull out, it would be a HUGE blow to NASCAR, and I can't immagine what NASCAR would look like without a Ford or Chevrolet out on the track.
 
Jayski.com posted that neither of the Big Three are pulling out. From what I'm looking at its just a rumor, that's all.
 

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