Sponsors Make The World Go Around

If sponsors are what makes the world go around in NASCAR then there may be some big changes in store as the sport enters 2011.

Recognize any of the following names?



Ryan Newman

Tony Stewart

Kyle Busch

Jeff Gordon

Mark Martin

Brad Keselowski

Sam Hornish Jr.

Justin Allgaier



What do they have in common?

Lack of adequate sponsorship for the 2011 season.

Newman's number 39 needs a sponsor to partner up with the U.S. Army.



Tony is looking for a replacement for Old Spice on the number 14…

Kyle Busch is the owner of a Camping World Truck Series rig and without a commitment real soon he says he’ll shut the operation completely down.



We’ve all heard of the talks between Hendrick Motorsports and Walmart that fell apart a couple of weeks ago. That leaves Jeff Gordon’s number 24 in dire straits with DuPont backing way off on their sponsorship deal.



It’s said that Mark Martin’s number 5 will be painted up with hendrickcars.com (the owner putting his own business on the line)…



I guess Martin’s situation is better than Brad Keselowski being faced with driving a car without any sponsor this week.



Roger Penske is evidently up against it to the point that he’s told Sam Hornish Jr. and Justin Allgaier they’re going to have to hook up with other owners next year.



2010 Chase drivers, potentially the Truck Series Owner of the Year, a two time and a four time Cup Champion, the dean of current NASCAR drivers and refreshing new names and faces on NASCAR circuits... Apparently no one is immune.



This news is coming out in September and it involves some of the biggest names in the sport. What more bad news will come down as 2010 grinds to completion?



According to Mike Verlander, the director of business development, “As a sport we’ve got to sober up. We may have to learn to get along on $12 million to $15 million instead of $20 million to $25 million (per competitive Sprint Cup teams annually). The sport is not imploding. If Walmart has a couple of bad quarters, aren’t they still the No. 1 retailer in the world? I grew up in Jacksonville. When they say attendance is off at a race and there’s still 100,000 people in the stands, wouldn’t the Jaguars love to have 100,000? It’s all relative."



It looks like this economy is going to not only change the faces in NASCAR, it’s going to change the face of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing itself…







Resource:

http://jacksonville.com/sports/racing/2010-09-21/story/nascars-economic-engine-still-sputtering