Published: April 21, 2009 01:42 pm         

DODGE'S RACING FUTURE "IFFY"

Monticello — Chrysler's involvement in racing has been around since long before

NASCAR's founding in 1948. While their cars may continue to be operated by

some teams, the manufacturer is undergong some hard economic times.

Lindsey Young of the Chattanooga Free Press reported that the Obama

administration told Chrysler (Dodge's parent company) it will get no more

bailout money and has less than 30 days to get its financial house in order.

If Chrysler and Dodge is handed over to a bankruptcy judge next month,

all NASCAR contracts will be voided, meaning the already-struggling Dodge

teams will be put even further behind.

The General Motors story is nearly as sobering. After being turned down

for $17 billion in aid, the manufacturer was given until June 1 to eliminate

billions of dollars in costs. While no one expects Chevrolet to go under,

parent company GM also is likely headed to bankruptcy, though only to

reorganize, not liquidate.

Either way, it's nearly impossible to believe any reorginazation would

include NASCAR support as it currently is, estimated at $140 million

annually. Ford already has cut its support dramatically after suffering a

reported $14.6 billion loss in 2008, and even Toyota, which lost $1.6

billion last year, has indicated that it will not expand its NASCAR support.

Should the worst case scenario come to pass, it would have a negative

impact on NASCAR Sprint Cup teams, but racing will continue. GM currently

supports 14 of the top 40 teams in NASCAR.

Brian France, NASCAR's CEO has kept the lines of communication open with

the manufacturers in Detroit ‹ and abroad. And he firmly believes that

racing is still the best possible marketing vehicle for the three American

car makers and Toyota.

"They're telling us that we're a very small part of their focus right

now," France said. "Everything they're trying to do is get a restructuring

plan for the federal government to approve. We've been very supportive of

that.

"Their commitment to NASCAR ‹ in terms of whether it works ‹ is there.

They acknowledge (the marketing value). But it's still on the priority list

‹ pretty low down the pike.

"We're OK. We're just like everybody else. Hanging in there with the

economy and trying to make some proper adjustments."

Although it was not widely publicized, France flew by commercial

airlines to the races at California and Las Vegas Motor Speedway ‹ a new

mandate for all NASCAR employees traveling from Charlotte, N.C., to the West

Coast.

"Commercial, I haven't done for a while," France continued. "But it is a

sign of the times ‹ a little bit. We try to be more efficient about how we

do things and that's fine. It's good."

Next Week: State of the Camping World Trucks

Weekend Racing: The Sprint Cup and Nationwide teams will be at the

2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway, while the Craftsman Trucks are at Kansas

Speedway.

Sat., Apr. 25, Nationwide Series Aaron's 312, race 8 of 35; Starting

time: 2:30 p.m. (EDT); TV: ESPN2.

Sat., Apr. 25, Camping World Series O'Reilly Auto Parts 250, race 5 of

25; Starting time: 5:30 p.m. (EDT); TV: Speed Channel.

Sun., Apr. 26, Sprint Cup Aaron's 499, race 9 of 36; Starting time: 1

p.m. (EDT); TV: FOX.



Racing Trivia Question: Who will AJ Allmendinger be driving for in 2010?

Last Week's Question: Who does Clint Bowyer drive for? Answer: He drives

the No. 33 Richard Childress Chevrolet in the Cup Series.

You may contact the Racing Reporter at: hodgesnews@earthlink.net.

     

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