As I sit and watch week after week cars that go unsponsored, I can’t help but wonder if NASCAR is paying attention. Despite team mergers and layoffs NASCAR continues to stay strong and move forward. But what about the teams that are struggling more than others? Never in my life did I think I would ever see Dale Earnhardt Inc. have another name attached to it, unless it was Earnhardt related. Would Dale Earnhardt Sr. approve of it? We’ll never know, but that is one definitive sign of the struggling economy in NASCAR.
During the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville on Sunday, there were three teams with no sponsor and one with the team name. Drivers Todd Bodine, Joe Nemechek, and Robby Gordon had sponsor less cars, and David Stremme had the Penske name on the car. Now with Stremme’s situation, they are in fact sponsored by Verizon but due to Sprint being the title sponsor for the Cup Series, are not allowed to use any Verizon names or logos on the car. With the poor economy and teams struggling to survive, NASCAR needs to swallow their pride. Will it really hurt NASCAR to allow someone like Verizon or AT&T to be on a car? If anything it will make NASCAR money because those teams will be able to race.
By allowing these teams to have “conflicting” sponsors, not only does it allow these teams to race but it opens up the door to help improve the economy. It could allow teams to hire out-of-work crew members, help a company advertise and promote, and in turn fans may be apt to buying a product or supporting a company.
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