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2009 Sprint Cup Series won’t be your Father’s NASCAR

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by Steve Wronkowicz

I am co-host of the syndicated radio show: ON PIT ROW. Over ten years on the air and three on the net; see what can happen when I don't let the facts get in the way of my opinions.

January 6, 2009 10:31 am UTC 3 Comments

Sponsorship parameters in NASCAR have changed once again.

What had been easy picking for the last decade or so have become forbidden fruit.  There are long time sponsors in the Cup series that appear to be locked in forever.  Dupont with Jeff Gordon seems to be in the sport for the long run.  But; if Gordon were to decide to retire after 2009, would that sponsorship hang around for a young up and comer?

STP started the big time sponsor gig with the Pettys in the 1970′s, but even that long time supporter couldn’t hang on at the prices that were being demanded by the sport.  Lowe’s and Home Depot have been in the sport a long time, but how long can they justify the expense of big time car racing?  Will Home Depot be as happy with the sport if Joey Lagano isn’t an immediate success on and off the track?

Teams have had to split sponsorships of their cars between several sponsors over the past five to ten years to collect the kind of cash needed.  More and more of that is occurring each year.  It was a phenomenon that snuck in slowly and almost without notice.  Fans would see a Carhart #17 every so often instead of the more familiar DeWalt decals on the Roush Fords.  It was viewed as just a way to give an associate sponsor some more “air” time.  Little did we all know that this split sponsorship stuff was and is a necessity.

Tony Stewart had to line up sponsorship for his new ride and went to Office Depot and Old Spice to fill up the travelling billboard.  Even NASCAR’s most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., had to have Pepsi and The National Guard to share some responsibility.  This trend will only get worse until race teams get costs under control.  Costs have spiraled upward in recent years due to the proliferation of specialists in the garage area.  Tire specialists, shock specialists, areo specialists and more too numerous to mention may give way to the automotive jack-of-all-trades again.

And this leads us to this week’s BUZZ ON PIT ROW:

Will the new economy of NASCAR eventually result in a better, stronger sport; or is this the begining of the end of the sport as we know it?

Let us know what you think and we may use your response on this week’s ON PIT ROW radio show.  Listen live from 5-7pm ET at www.onpitrow.com.

photo credit:  Icon Sports Media

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., How to fix NASCAR, Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth, NASCAR Bidness, NASCAR Rumors, Stewart Haas Racing, The Pettys, Tony Stewart 

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Comments

3 Responses to “2009 Sprint Cup Series won’t be your Father’s NASCAR”

  1. User Avatar Marc on January 6th, 2009 1:40 pm

    Beginning of the end to the sport?

    Yeah whatever, they said that when Chrysler pulled out and Richard Petty went drag racing.

    They said it when Big Bill busted the “union” at Talladega in ’69.

    They said the same when ALL the car makers pulled out at one point.

    They said it when Pontiac pulled out.

    Hell they even said it when Dale Sr. died.

    It’s all Happy Horsesh*t, a multi-billion dollar industry doesn’t go poof. It may or may not change but it will still be around as enjoyable as ever.

  2. Clance' on January 6th, 2009 3:34 pm

    I hardly think it is the beginning of the end. Maybe the begining of something different…Greed being one of them.
    Perhaps a simpler version of the sport like “Back in the Old Days” I don’t think that would hurt the sport at all. What has hurt the sport is NA$CAR. $$$$$$$$$$$

  3. User Avatar Steve Wronkowicz on January 7th, 2009 10:15 pm

    NASCAR will be with us for a long, long time. Maybe not in the same excessive form that has become apparant in recent years however. The sport had become somewhat of a parity of itself in the past ten years. The big teams got bigger because they didn’t have to be accountable. If they needed something, they spent sponsors mony to get it. There was always more sponsor money to be had.

    Well it ain’t that way any longer. The endless lines of credit and cash are no more and race teams are having to learn to do more with less. As Norm Benning said in an interview at arcaracing.com, If you have to learn to live without sponsors, its tough, but if you have been making it work without, then this isn’t so different.

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