Originally Posted by Todd Kimmel:
Inside the Mind of Todd Kimmel
A weekly column by Todd talking about racing and the industry
• I am not trying to offend anyone with my thoughts. I am sure this will cause a lot of debate and that is fine. If this offends anyone or my facts are wrong I am sorry. I am simply going off CNN.com and racing websites.
• Thanks for reading this. This just seemed like a good idea to get my thoughts on paper and see what people think
Friday, December 12, 2008-Last night made it official that the United States would not help out the Big Three Automakers. Congress feels as though bailing them out would not help because they do not think that the automakers will change their ways. In the long run I think it is very safe to say that by not bailing out the Big Three we are actually hurting the US economy even more. When the Big Three go under over 8 million people in the US will lose their jobs. The trickle down effect will be catastrophic to the people of the US.
If you look at everything the Big Three are involved in it is clear to see that the US economy is in going to be worse off. Entertainments such as NASCAR and other forms of racing will seize to exist. When GM, Ford, and Chrysler go under who will supply engines and other parts needed for NASCAR racing. Also as most of you know Chrysler is a big part of USAC Racing. They are the title sponsor of the National Midget Series and also the major sponsor of Kasey Kahne’s USAC teams. I know that the series can go on without a title sponsor, but the question is for how long? GM is also a big part in midgets and sprint cars. They are the main sponsor for Tony Stewart’s sprint car team and also sponsor Shannon Babb in the WoO late models and Tony Stewarts WoO sprint car team. As many know Chevrolet has been working on a new 4 cylinder engine for midget racing to possibly decrease the cost of the sport. Ford is another one that has been a huge part of USAC racing. They have won more championships in USAC midgets then any other manufacture including many feature wins over the course of their history. With Esslinger being a big part of Ford what will happen to them? Other engines builders to be worried about are Hawk, Speedway Engines, Gaerte, Kister, and many other smaller companies that build engines without direct factory support.
The next topic I would like to go on about is the fuel prices. Although over the course of the last month fuel prices have started to decrease we find ourselves waking up this morning to gas prices increasing more than 20 cents.
Last year the gas prices started to affect low budget racers keeping more and more at race tracks closer to home or even forcing them to park their cars for the remainder of the season. If you add in the ailing economy and the high gas prices you might see that more and more teams stay closer to home or possibly do not race in the coming season.
Fan count is also going to go down as more people lose their jobs and gas prices increase. Late last year at any given race track you could notice empty seats in grandstands. It is not just the sprint car and midget word either. NASCAR is even having problems selling tickets. For the first time in decades the Daytona 500 is NOT sold out. Not to mention over part of the season NASCAR was losing fan base.
It can also be noticed with all of the teams merging and getting partners. Gillette Evernham teamed up last year, but it seems Ray Evernham has sold his share of the team. Ganassi is teaming up with DEI, Roush partnered with Fenway, and so on and so forth.
Todd Kimmel
NASCAR IS IN BIG TROUBLE AND ALL RACING IS IN TROUBLE! THE POWERS TO BE ARE JUST LIKE THE AUTO MAKERS POOR MANAGEMENT!!!!!!!!!! THEY LET THE COST OF RACING GET WAY OUT OF CONTROL!!!!!!!!!!
:headbang:doh: