NASCAR Without Chevy?

As hard as it is to believe, before the end of the Sprint Cup season the "Heartbeat of America" may be flat-lined for good. News that GM's auditors have "substantial doubts" that the company can avoid bankruptcy have resurfaced fears that 2009 might be a very difficult year for motorsports. Complicating matters is the increased government oversight of the auto manufacturers in response to the loans they received to continue operations. It'll be increasingly difficult to justify spending "bailout" money on racing programs, even if they genuinely do represent dollars spent on effective advertising.

Of course a NASCAR without Chevy is like corn flakes without milk; nevertheless, NASCAR racing could probably absorb the shock of losing Chevrolet. But if Dodge and Ford were quick to follow, the circuit would likely be drastically affected. I'm sure there would be plenty of available equipment to go around... at first. The lack of corporate financing would hurt the smaller teams most. Big teams like Hendrick Motorsports, who do their engine work in-house, would probably make it through the season relatively unscathed. But teams who purchase engines from Hendrick, et al, might not be in such a favorable position.

The big question mark surrounds short-track racing. Chevrolet provides the bulk of the engines at local short tracks and it's unlikely that another manufacturer -- especially a foreign one -- could step in quickly enough to meet the demand. And call me Captain Obvious but... it's hard to enjoy motorsports without motors.

General Motors has supported our sport for a long time. Just 20 years ago they fielded four different models in the NASCAR Cup Series. Chevrolet was there when Dale Earnhardt finally won the Daytona 500 in 1998, and that same year saw Jeff Gordon to an incredible 13 wins. Not to mention seven victories in the Indianapolis 500.

Hopefully they can pull through this and get back on their feet.