About a week after becoming a former Sprint Cup driver when his team was shut down, Dario Franchitti was asked how things were going. “Not great,” Franchitti said. “It was a big shock that it happened.” That shock, some around NASCAR are saying, could soon be spreading like crabgrass.
Tough economic times have descended upon the American economy, and that spells bad news for a sport that is joined at the hip, shoulders and ankles to the business community. Sponsorship money for teams, cars and drivers appears to be thinning significantly, some are saying. Asked last week what he thinks the sponsorship picture looks like right now, Jeff Burton — one of the headier drivers in NASCAR — said, “It’s lean. It’s very lean.”
- IRL driver Dan Wheldon serious about NASCAR
- Albers loses qualifying times, will start last
- Johnson struggles to find speed in testing with the COT
- Pre-Chase Jitters not an Issue for Stewart
- SPEED to show All Star race in New York’s Times Square
I was watching something on the history channel the other day about the Great Depression, and they said something about how during that time Auto Racing actually had a boom period.
I know our local tracks are having lean times now. Our primary track seats about 3,300 plus a few hundred more for special events. A regular weekly show (stock cars) is about 1,500-1,800 fans. About 2,500 on a really good night. It’s down to about 800 now. The midget series (different night) usually have high car counts and roughly only 300-400 fans. That’s down to maybe 150-200 fans a show now. They might even drop the midget series at this point. The beer stand has about 15 kegs they haven’t used yet and the concession stands had to let people go. Not to mention 5 rainouts in the first 10 nights of the season. Even the ASA cars (2 different divisions) aren’t bringing in the crowds. That’s unheard of. Lean times are everywhere.