Automaker's economic woes continue downward

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- On Friday at otherwise sunny Phoenix International Raceway, the bad news hit harder than probably everyplace else in America but Detroit.

As NASCAR prepared to run a full slate of events in the Craftsman Truck Series, the Nationwide Series and the Sprint Cup Series at PIR, word filtered through the garage of the staggering losses announced by auto manufacturer General Motors -- one of the sport's biggest financial backers.

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The American automaker announced third-quarter losses totaling $4.2 billion, bringing its total losses in the last three years to $50 billion. Worse yet, one estimate had GM being drained of all but $20 billion of its cash reserves -- when it needs roughly $12 billion per month to continue operating.

Car sales for the quarter were the worst they've been since World War II, according to analysts. And yes, NASCAR expects -- and even already is experiencing -- an adverse trickle-down effect in the sport where it currently costs $20 million or more to field a top-notch, competitive team for one Sprint Cup season.

"My brother was in the car business. He ran a Chevy store. And I've always been around dealerships. So I'm plenty aware of a lot of owners and people that are in the car business. Times are tough," said Clint Bowyer, who drives the No. 07 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing.

"Everybody is in lockdown mode. You hear all the news and how bad everything is, and you're not going to go out and buy a new car. You're not going to go out to dinner. Go out to a restaurant on a Tuesday night and you'll see. You feel it everywhere. Go out to a movie theater. Go anywhere. Business is down everywhere. And as long as people keep reading and hearing about how bad it is, they're going to go on lockdown. It seems like it's that way.

"Hopefully it'll turn around soon, and we'll all be all right. But you know, when a company as big as Chevrolet/GM announces something like that, it's an eye-opener for everybody."

It's an eye-opener in the garage area, where uncertainty about the future is running rampant in every nook and cranny of seemingly every team's stall. Noting that fewer than 30 teams have lined up full-time primary sponsorship for next season in the Sprint Cup Series, team owner Richard Childress said times undoubtedly are changing. (Continued)