NASCAR Banks on Automakers' Survival

Auto Racing Losing Money

Ford recently stopped contributing money -- though it continues to provide engineering support -- to teams in its Nationwide series and Camping World Truck series. The two NASCAR racing programs are less well-known than its Sprint Cup series, which is home to famous drivers like Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The company continues to fund teams in the Sprint Cup. Ford racing communications manager Kevin Kennedy declined to disclose how much the company is spending.

"At Ford, racing falls under marketing and sales, and all marketing budgets at Ford have been cut, so there's no reason that racing should be immune to that," Kennedy said. "We've had to make some hard choices."

Kennedy noted that Ford can trace its roots back to racing -- Henry Ford's winnings from a 1901 auto race helped him start the company.

But Kennedy said he couldn't rule out the possibility that Ford would have to leave racing -- and NASCAR -- someday.

"I don't think that company wants to, but you have to be realistic," he said. "You can never say never."