Indy Car's MAJOR flaw, from a Sponsor's perspective, is that it is a part time series with NOTHING happening six months of the year.

I will preface this response by saying that I am not a NASCAR advocate nor am I an IndyCar hater.

Over simplifying the answer here, but the reason companies are willing to sponsor a NASCAR team over an IndyCar team is all about the number of people that will see their logo. Look at the overall attendance for NASCAR vs. IndyCar. Look at the TV ratings for the two series. NASCAR has 36 races, IndyCar 16. The IndyCar season starts in March and will end in 2016 in mid September. NASCAR starts racing in mid February and won't finish until mid November. All of that equals exposure for the company that is shelling out sponsorship money.

There is one other thing that deserves some comment here, and that is how the drivers relate to the sponsors and the paying public. Helio Castroneves and Juan Pablo Montoya are probably the two most popular drivers in IndyCar. How many national commercials have you seen them in? Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, and others have all had national commercials in the last 3 years. During the racing season, MOST (not all I realize!) of the NASCAR drivers live in the Charlotte area, the hub of NASCAR. Only a few of the IndyCar drivers reside in the Indianapolis area during the season.

IndyCar will be poorer with the loss of Sarah Fisher, because she was relatable. She worked her tail off as a driver and an owner and found success because of it. But in big business in America, effort doesn't always translate to success or happiness.

Slightly off topic, but I constantly see people bashing Nascar or even Indycar. I understand the racing isn't exactly exciting and Nascar has some wild and unorthodox formats. But the future of oval racing in the US depends on the success of nascar. Nascar races are many times the first races young future fans and drivers see. So in order to grow the sports and keep teams and drivers like Sarah Fisher around, we must support Nascar and Indycar. I am not saying you have to be awake for the whole race, but supporting these major series is vital to growing open wheel racing.

No one has mentioned this, but the team's not gone, just Sarah Fisher and Wink Hartman's involvement in it; Josef Newgarden still has a ride albeit with the newly re-renamed ECR.
Kind of a paradox that the low oil prices that make it easier for us to get to the races can kill someone else's ability to sponsor them...

Clipped from an article

In any case, the 35-year-old pioneering former IndyCar driver became a former IndyCar owner with the official announcement that Carpenter Fisher Hartman Racing had become simply Ed Carpenter Racing on Thursday.

Hartman is an independent oil man. He was a major funder of the team. While we may like the low gas prices, the low oil prices have had a devastating effect down here in the Gulf and in other areas that were recently booming. . . . tens of thousands of people in the oil business and oil drilling services providers business are now looking for work. This really is nothing new, but this downturn was faster and deeper than most can handle. . . . some world ******** involved, too. . .

So the lesson here is:
The next time gas is $4 a gallon, everyone needs to be more thankful that an independent oil guy makes enough profit to bankroll an Indy Car team. 😀

I'd bet way more young fans get exposed to racing at your local Friday/Saturday night short track then NASCAR and IndyCar combined.

A lot of sponsorships are based on the evolution of products and the life cycle of a product. Some sponsors look to attract those who would buy stock in like products they are advertising. Some just want regional name recognition. Some sponsors use it as a way to socialize and impress customers, giving a certain brand image.
My main point is that changes in cycles of products and like products can have a big effect on advertising budgets and change in target markets.

Gene, this is not just the IndyCar owners, its ALL of racing. They were simply leading the way as the more popular motorsport for most of the last century. Cup is that way, NHRA, all the sportscar teams, WoO to a lesser extent. And even USAC teams. I see pics of inside of some of these shops and they arent in a garage being someones house. They are in an industrial park! I dont think its fair to blame the older Indy owners just because they were the first ones to do it.
And next, everbody on here yells because NASCAR gets all the sponsorship dollars, but are the first to bash IndyCar for this, that or the other and say they dont care and are not watching or going to the races. Well we must SUPPORT that series if we want more Clauson's to ever get to Indy! I'm not a fan of everything that happened in the change from the "good ole days" at Indy until now either. But I stuck it out and have seen some great races in IndyCar and even became a huge road racing fan! And have become a huge fan of Kannan, Heilo(who isnt), Dixon ect, as well as Newgarden and Karam. If you think these guys cant drive or are sissy's because they never ran Kokomo, you are just plain wrong, and have bought into some stereyotype that does no one any good!