Every day, it seems the news from Detroit and Tokyo gets increasingly more pessimistic. Auto sales in the United States for June were down more than 18 percent from a year ago and marked the worst sales figures in more than a decade.

Chrysler's sales were down nearly 36 percent. Ford recorded almost 28 percent fewer sales in June of 2008, compared to 2007. General Motors declined 18 percent over the same period. And before you think it's just the Big Three in freefall, Toyota sales were down 21 percent and Nissan 17 percent.

And the worry is this might not be the bottom, even though stock prices for many automotive corporations are at historic lows.

"We don't know when it's going to end," said Steven Landry, Chrysler executive vice president for North American sales.

"The economy enters the second half of the year with a notable absence of momentum and a high degree of uncertainty," added Jim Farley, Ford vice president of marketing and communications. "This past month's auto sales clearly reflected a very difficult situation for our customers, and we think it's going to persist for many months to come, possibly longer."

So how does the current economic climate affect manufacturer involvement in NASCAR?

General Motors, in the midst of a $10 billion cost-cutting program, recently announced it will not renew sponsorship of events at New Hampshire and Bristol. Will other manufacturers follow suit and begin to scale down -- or even eliminate -- motorsports sponsorship, particularly when it comes to Sprint Cup?

In order to see into the future, it's best to take a look back.

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Factory Ford driver Ned Jarrett won the Southern 500 in 1965.

The symbiotic relationship between manufacturers and NASCAR has existed almost from the beginning. And manufacturer involvement in the sport has waxed and waned over time, much like the phases of the moon.

Over a three-year period, beginning with a horrific accident at LeMans in 1955 that killed dozens of spectators -- and punctuated by an accident at Martinsville in 1957, when Billy Myers' Mercury went into the grandstands -- the Automobile Manufacturers Association grew more and more concerned with the inherent dangers of racing, finally recommending that factory support be eliminated that season.

However, even though Chrysler, Ford and General Motors publicly cut ties with NASCAR, they continued to indirectly fund racing programs. In Ford's case, the manufacturer channeled parts and technology to Holman and Moody for the next several years.

But by the mid-1960s, the Big Three realized that the old adage "win on Sunday, sell on Monday" was not just a marketing gimmick. And the muscle car evolution, particularly in the Southeast, was fueled in part by what was happening on the track every weekend.

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Win on Sunday, sell on Monday isn't the only factor, executives say.

The first oil crisis in 1973, combined with a sluggish economy and downturn in car sales, abruptly put a damper on manufacturer spending. Even though Chrysler aligned itself with Petty Enterprises, Ford chose the Wood Brothers as its flagship program and General Motors selected Junior Johnson's organization, many other operations were forced to go the independent route. By the end of the decade, Chrysler was out of the racing business, and wouldn't return until 2001.

However, it's difficult to assess whether the current situation -- where high fuel prices and a stagnant economy are driving consumer decisions to forego purchasing larger, less fuel-efficient vehicles -- is similar to the situation faced by manufacturers three decades ago, or foretells a permanent shift with unknown future consequences.

Manufacturer support, in terms of technology, manpower and money, is exponentially greater than it was in the 1970s. And that creates a more difficult decision-making process for executives in Michigan and Japan. How do you determine if motorsports marketing is driving profits?

"When you look at what we do on-track, we have three key principles," said Terry Dolan, Chevrolet marketing manager. "We race to win, so if you're going to be there, you've got to do it properly. The audience that's there has to care about our involvement and we need to get a return on our investment. If we can successfully answer those questions, that puts us in a pretty good position.

"Keep in mind, we've got a business to run. It's all about selling cars and trucks, and how you can use this property or category to generate more revenue."

Brian Wolfe, the new director of Ford Racing Technology, concurs.

"Success from a motorsports perspective is not only about winning championships, which is, of course, a prerequisite, but it is also making sure that there are returns to the company from a marketing perspective, in selling new cars and in enhancing the company's image," he said.

"Wherever Ford has gone and wanted to compete, Ford has dominated. That legacy of success is in our DNA and in our blood. My goal is anywhere we continue to go in the future, we want that same dominance."

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Ford's "Drive One" campaign landed on Travis Kvapil's hood this year.

So is "win on Sunday, sell on Monday" still a viable marketing platform?

"It's not that direct," Dolan said. "It's not a case of Dale Earnhardt Jr. winning a race Sunday afternoon and people flocking to the showroom Monday. But there is a presence and connectivity over a 12-month duration that influences our business.

"The plus of NASCAR is that it has a 10-month calendar. We have a 12-month business cycle. I can divest marketing resources in one location that provides me nice duration, good frequency and outstanding reach. So all those help us drive our business needs to sell cars and trucks. As electronic tools have become available, we're able to track our sales performance better, find source of sales and inflows, and then analyze those and make sure the decisions we're making are viable."

But Dolan admitted that General Motors has multiple ways to market its products -- and one of those is the Internet.

"As a marketer, your toolbox changes on an ongoing basis, and those things that you can use to drive your business," he said. "What's real today is how consumers use the digital space to identify either with entertainment or their source of information, news and gaming. Those digital properties become very helpful to us to reach a larger audience.

"Today at the track, I may be able to reach 200,000 people. Throughout the season, I may be able to reach millions of people through NASCAR. Online, I reach an exponentially larger audience that helps drive business for us in a cost-efficient manner. It's just one of the tools you utilize."

So the manufacturers are in it to sell cars. But what do the teams get out of it? For team owner Ray Evernham, manufacturer involvement is much more than just additional money in his pocket.

"You can always go out and get sponsors, if all you are getting from a manufacturer is dollars," Evernham said. "It's been my feeling that NASCAR and auto racing need manufacturers because the things that have evolved from racing -- racing's been invaluable to the street car market in a lot of different ways, because the things we've developed, or the manufacturers develop in partnership -- have made street cars safer, it's made racing safer. So there are developments that have helped the public.

"It would be a shame to see the manufacturers pull out, because the one thing they provide is technology as they're building their cars. I think the actual car market would suffer because of all of the things that have transferred, from safety to engine design and aerodynamics, things like that."

For Evernham, the access to the technology is critical to the success of his business.

"The things that make a racecar go around a corner these days are the same things that made it go around a corner 30 years ago," he said. "And if people are racing for another 100 years, it's still going to be the same thing. It's horsepower, weight transfer and aerodynamics.

"And you have to say, 'What's the technology that gives me the best return?' The biggest hunk of your money is always going to go into engine development. Then chassis development -- they've got you in a pretty good box, but you're constantly working on it, whether it's torsional rigidity or lightness. Now, we're into metallurgy. It's the same things you're working on, over and over again. It's just the tools have gotten so much better in the last 10 years."

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Jack Roush says Ford's financial and technological support are equally important.

For team owner Jack Roush, manufacturer support provides a safety net -- in both revenue and technical assistance -- that wouldn't exist without the deep pockets in Detroit.

"I can't speak for all manufacturers, but [Ford] brings about 15 percent of my revenue, which is 200 percent of my potential, best scenario gross profit before I buy equipment and fix potholes in the driveway and put patches on my roof," Roush said. "And I don't see the prospect of their not being able to keep up with that for the foreseeable future.

"It's a balance. The financial piece helps you with liability, which is important. And then there's finite element analysis people that are in engineering, algorithms and support. There's things that affect the determination of what you use for shock absorbers, springs and sway bars and wedge, and attitude on the car on the racetrack. ... The technology's important and the money's probably equally as important. So it's a balance."

When it comes to manufacturer involvement, NASCAR may be best positioned to weather any economic storm. The common chassis design allows for fairly simple template changes in the event that a new manufacturer would want to enter Sprint Cup racing. It's more than just a few tweaks to the grille and some new headlight stickers, but having to create an entirely new body style and have it approved by the sanctioning body is no longer an issue.

But is that a good or bad thing when it comes to consumer loyalty? It's hard to quantify, because the current slump in sales is mainly the result of outside factors. And the new design has only been in place since last spring.

Even in a challenging economic environment, the prevailing opinion is that manufacturers will continue to have a strong presence in NASCAR.

"Obviously, we're going to continue to speak to all the manufacturers on a regular basis," NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said. "But NASCAR has served them well, and they are getting a good return on their investment. And they know NASCAR has a huge audience and loyal fan base eager to buy their products."

Even though Speedway Motorsports Inc. was affected by GM's decision to pull track sponsorship, the company remains optimistic about the future.

"We've seen bad times with the economy before, and we'll likely see them again," said Scott Cooper, vice president of communications for SMI. "At the end of the day, we've still got a sport that pairs up well with the American car manufacturers. We believe the sport will continue to have tight relations with those manufacturers."

And the manufacturers expect to stick around for some time to come.

"There are a number of things that drive a consumer's engagement, to have an opinion and drive them to purchase our product," Dolan said. "Winning helps us, make no doubt about it. Having key ambassadors representing us in the marketplace and showing their alliance to our brand and how they trust it to keep them safe on track, to help them win races, all fits so naturally with our brand.

"We're planning on preparing for 100 more years of business in the future. We're adjusting our spending based on current economic times and the amount of sales we can book on a monthly basis. I feel very confident in the future of General Motors. We have a good product that's coming forward."