Volkswagen is focusing on its fledgling Jetta TDI Cup series, as well as off-road racing. While Campbell admits that his company has “done the math” about what NASCAR would entail, the price apparently seems a little high.
“Our [whole] Jetta TDI Cup is two weeks worth of budget for a NASCAR team,” Campbell added.
Honda is currently the sole player in the IndyCar Series. The company’s financial status is stable, as its U.S. sales have remained steady while others have suffered freefalls. The carmaker has been rumored in the past to land in NASCAR. But NASCAR mandates, which require technology to be very similar between brands in the name of on-track parity, doesn’t seem to jibe with a company looking to shift what it learns on the track to the showroom.
“The rules platform as currently constructed in NASCAR is not necessarily conducive to the racing goals of Honda,” said T.E. McHale, manager of motorsports public relations for American Honda Motor Co. “To advance the technology of the sport and to develop the associates who work in the racing program, that’s why we go racing.
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