NASCAR Banks on Automakers' Survival

Future Sponsors of NASCAR

Meanwhile, NASCAR teams, which operate as businesses independent of NASCAR, have had trouble finding new sponsors.

To address the challenges facing cash-strapped teams, NASCAR recently banned costly "testing" -- essentially practice runs for race cars and teams -- a move that the association estimates will save cash-strapped teams a total of $30 to $40 million.

The Big Three, overall, have a lot to gain by participating in NASCAR.

Related

Big Three CEOs Flew Private Jets to Plead for Public Funds

RSS Feed: Send News to Your Computer

Business News: Sign Up for MONEYScope E-Mails

"NASCAR fans are tremendously loyal, so when they're going to buy a new vehicle, they're going to buy a vehicle that is racing in NASCAR," said Dick Berggren, the executive director of Speedway Illustrated magazine and himself, a racing fan. "The only vehicles I buy are vehicles whose manufacturers race in NASCAR. I won't buy anything else."

NASCAR, meanwhile, has its own reasons for steadfastly supporting the automakers.

For one thing, the Big Three, along with Toyota, design the engines and other crucial equipment for all NASCAR team cars. They also provide engineering and technical support related to races themselves, helping NASCAR teams adjust their cars' performance, depending on the tracks they're racing on.

In many cases, they, along with other sponsors, also provide funding directly to the teams.

"It's a two-way street when it comes to NASCAR and the automakers," Berggren said.

There is also a sentimental attachment between NASCAR fans and automakers.

"There are many fans who root specifically for the car manufacturer -- They'll root for Ford, they'll root for [General Motors'] Chevrolet, they'll root for [Chrysler's] Dodge or they'll root for Toyota," said Bob Pockrass, an associate editor at NASCAR Scene magazine.

"Not only do they root for their manufacturers, but they often root against the others," he said. "You still definitely have fans who [say] 'I'm a Ford guy and I hate Chevy,' or, 'I'm a Chevy guy and I hate Ford.'"

The drama from such rivalries, he said, adds excitement to the sport.

Excitement or not, automakers have already started pulling some of their dollars from NASCAR.