GM, FORD LEAVING NASCAR?

GM OR FORD LEAVING NASCAR; RUMORS ABOUND ABOUT THEIR DAYS POSSIBLY BEING NUMBERED IN THE "GREAT AMERICAN MOTORSPORT". ARROGANT NASCAR SAYS: "WHO CARES? TOYOTA IS COMING ON-BOARD WITH THEIR DOLLARS NEXT YEAR!" THE DAYS OF "WIN ON SUNDAY, SELL ON MONDAY" ARE OVER.

The word is all over the Internet but not yet in the general media: One (or two or all) of the Big Three is formulating their withdrawal from NASCAR over the next 2-3 years, and oddsmakers say FORD might be the (first) one to go.

Peter DeLorenzo's website, autoextremist.com, has reported what's been rumored for more than a few years: Chevy, Ford and DCX spend an estimated $500,000 in total on the various NASCAR series in the course of one year. While that might be acceptable budgets for Ferrari, Toyota and Renault in their F1 efforts, companies in Detroit now regularly posting losses in the hundreds of millions are having a tough time justifying those costs to their stockholders.

However, because DeLorenzo also works for the Detroit manufacturers as a consultant/analyst, there is the chance that this "news" was planted on his website to gauge public reaction to the possibility.

WHY GM?

Those saying General Motors will leave NASCAR say that possibility might be connected to another long-running rumor: That Roger Penske has been tapped to replace either Rick Wagoner or Bob Lutz in their leadership positions at GM, or replace them both in one fell swoop.

The story goes that Penske, as leader of GM, would cut off all funding for racing except involvement in certain sports car series, in open-wheel series where engine-makers are an important part of the equation (IRL, Champ Car) or in an all-out effort to win at LeMans (which Ford did in the 1960s, after hiring Carroll Shelby for some $40 million to field a team to put Ford on top at the world famous endurance race).

Roger Penske knows more than anyone else what the TRUE costs of racing are in all its different variations. Like President Franklin Roosevelt hiring Joseph P. Kennedy to be the first head of the Security and Exchange Commission, it makes a certain amount of sense to put the biggest fox in charge of the entire hen house.

WHY FORD?

They have just posted what is expected to be the first of several quarters of huge losses coming from the closing of several North American factories (GM already has absorbed similar losses), and they might be the one US-based car company unable to take it, or convince their stockholders that the cost is worth the overall price. Without the gigantic worldwide assets of all of GM or Daimler behind them, Ford is floundering.

TOYOTA AND THEIR $60 BILLION

Sixty billion dollars. That's what Toyota says they have, in cash, in the bank. With a full-on Formula 1 program costing the company near $500 million annually, and already involved in the Sears Craftsman Truck Series and a slowing IRL program, Toyota has money to spare for any racing program.

Many NASCAR teams are shaking in their boots at Toyota's entry into the Busch and Cup series. They should. The company has the money and determination to dominate, if and when they want to. No one is fooled with Toyota announcing their first "teams" as involving Bill Davis Racing, Michael Waltrip Racing and Red Bull Racing. These mediocre outfits will do some of the final R&D for Toyota's NASCAR effort.

By 2010, the top teams in NASCAR Busch and Cup series will all be involved one way or another with Toyota.

In fact, most of the top teams in NASCAR have already, one way or another, gotten hold of Toyota NASCAR-spec racing engines and they are scared to death of what they see: High-technology to a degree not yet seen in NASCAR, and an evident commitment to spend as much as necessary to put the company on top and keep them there.

And once that circus starts, if one manufacturer starts dominating in all three series, sponsors will knock themselves out to have their names plastered on those cars and trucks --- and no one else's. Toyota will spend money and, ultimately, they will make even more.

IN RACING, "NEVER SAY NEVER"

However, one thing I have learned in covering the auto industry and auto racing for 35 years --- Never say 'never' or 'always' about anything. If either Dodge or Chevrolet announced one hour from now that they were leaving NASCAR (for the same reasons which Ford is rumored to be considering), it would not surprise me one bit.

However, before Toyota comes on-board next year, one or more of the Detroit car-makers will probably be gone.

NASCAR'S "CAR OF TOMORROW" HAS A BIG PART

In another time, the "Car of Tomorrow" (COT) might have been a quaint, corporate-sponsored exhibit at Disneyland, maybe with an audio-animatronic Richard Petty doing the walk-around explanation for a hushed crowd, amazed at the near-reality of it all.

But the COT is real and it is here. And all three manufacturers now involved in NASCAR have spent millions to "help" the France family in its development.

Once the COT is fielded, it cuts the final connection between the car on the race track and the car in the showroom. Finally, once and for all, apart from some paint, tape and decals, the car on the NASCAR race track and the "stock" car in the dealer's showroom will truly have absolutely nothing to do with each other.

"WIN ON SUNDAY, SELL ON MONDAY"

There was a time when "Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday" meant sense to the Detroit car-makers. In the '50s, '60s and '70s, when there were no other choices to the American car-buyer outside of the various GM, Ford and Chrysler brands, a win in NASCAR, NHRA, Indy racing (engines) and even SCORE off-road racing (Baja 500 and 1000) really had an influence on buyers.

But with more than 900 different makes and models available in the US, the amount of juice a NASCAR victory gives a manufacturer might simply not be worth the cash.

NASCAR FIGHTS TO BECOME A NATIONAL SPORT

NASCAR continues to try and place tracks in the northeast and northwest while their momentum is high. But the questions are beginning to arise: How long can NASCAR stay this "hot"? When does NASCAR become overexposed (and more than one analyst says that's already true)?

When does America either completely tire of or see-through the forced and phony geniality of media-trained NASCAR drivers? When do even die-hard fans get tired of the pseudo-Christianity and patriotism of what is, in the end, just a sport, like any other? NASCAR will disappear long before we ever hear a "benediction" focusing only on one religion before a football or hockey game in this country.

Even 5-year old kids can now predict exactly what the sport's drivers, announcers and sponsors will say whenever a mic is shoved in their face.

NASCAR has to be very careful in not getting ahead of themselves in misjudging their own popularity and at the same time keep the public from viewing the sport as the motorized version of the WWF.

If the public stops respecting the sport, then sponsors will be leaving like the place is on fire, Toyota or no Toyota. The France family has so far controlled the competition while still leaving a veneer of real racing over the entire show; but every race gives that veneer the time and opportunity to disappear, and then NASCAR becomes "Rollerball" on four wheels. After all, how many arrests of the Busch Brothers are good for the sport?

More to come on this important story.

Comments

[steve parker]

Hey Jason! Sorry, but not only is there no such as "American motorsports" anymore, there really is no such thing as an "American auto industry" anymore. That all went out the window about 20 years ago. Today, there is no car or truck sold anywhere in the world, including countries such as China and those in Eastern Europe, which doesn't have parts and technology from many, many other nations. As far as "American motorsports"? The most-covered off-road event in the world is the Dakar Rally, which runs from Europe through much of Africa, not the Baja 1000. The Euro Touring Car Championship is called "the NASCAR of Europe" and has huge TV numbers and attendance figures. Americans are constantly trying to get into Formula One racing, and now, F1 stars are trying to get into NASCAR! Nope, no more "All-American" anything, really, in today's world. Sorry!

[jason]

i think toyota doesnt even belong in nascar...sience when do cars that orginated in other countries have a place in AMERICAN motorsports? i agree with the neil guy that commented. kill nascar, lets see what else we can come up with

[steve parker]

Hey, Neil! Thanks for writing! You aren’t the only fan who feels that way --- I think a LOT of fans, especially outside the Southeast, are watching and going to NASCAR races because it is currently ‘cool’ to do so … When the next fad comes down the pike, a lot of them will be gone. Just look at all the Hollywood-types, actors and musicians, currently throwing themselves in front of NASCAR’s cameras. They are promoting themselves via NASCAR, not the other way around. As far as Toyota --- The company is certainly capable of dominating the sport within 4-5 years; whether they will do so or not remains to be seen. They have more money in the bank than any other company in the world and they are not afraid to spend it (look at their so-far failed F1 effort --- That’s costing them AT LEAST $150 MILLION a year). I really don’t know if Toyota being in NASCAR will draw any new fans to the sport, though.

Thanks again for writing!

Steve Parker

[Neil]

Toyota is the first nail of many in the coffin for Nascar. The fan base is already declining. What most people don't realize is TOYOTA teams are true Toyota effort. Toyota builds the engines and controls every aspect of the racing program.I personally hope Dodge ,Chevy and Ford all leave. Its time for a new series NASCAR Sucks!