How's the economy doing? The racecars tell the story

The last time the United States suffered through an official economic recession, beginning in late 2001, the downturn was evident every time NASCAR's premier series took to the racetrack. Teams that had won races a season earlier found themselves without primary sponsorship and in danger of shutting down. A host of companies slashed marketing budgets and left the sport. Cars at the rear of the field took the green flag backed by the likes of Lotto South and J.J. Baker Custom Homes, if they managed to find sponsors at all.

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Competing in a sport that depends on sponsorship dollars carries with it an inherent risk, one potentially much more damaging than hitting the wall at Darlington or running out of fuel at Michigan. Beyond the skill of a driver or the imagination of a crew chief, it can be the whims of Wall Street that determine whether a race team succeeds, fails, or even leaves the shop to begin with. There's no need for a thick report from the Department of the Treasury -- one look at the starting grid for a Sprint Cup event can provide a startlingly accurate snapshot of the economy as a whole.

And right now, the developing picture is a worrisome one. With little more than a week remaining until the 2008 season begins, there are no less than nine cars still looking for full-time primary sponsorship, and several others trying to close gaps in patchwork deals. We're not necessarily talking about back-markers, either; David Gilliland, who won the pole for last year's Daytona 500, doesn't yet have a primary sponsor for his No. 38 car. Neither does reigning Indianapolis 500 champion Dario Franchitti, debuting this year in Chip Ganassi's No. 40. Neither does former Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve. Neither does Patrick Carpentier, or Travis Kvapil, or Regan Smith, or Jeremy Mayfield, or Ken Schrader, or Michael McDowell.

Several others, from Scott Riggs to Robby Gordon to the combination of drivers who will pilot the No. 21 for the Wood Brothers, have partial deals but are still trying to piece together a full season's worth of backing. Then there are all the teams on the Nationwide and Craftsman Truck circuits with little to no sponsorship. At least they're still operating -- the same can't be said of three-time Daytona 500 winner Morgan-McClure Motorsports, which shut down after 24 years because it lost sponsor State Water Heaters to Haas CNC Racing. Yes, it's reached the point where a water heater company decides who survives. That's not a pretty picture.

Because of its inherent reliance on corporate sponsorship, NASCAR is the canary in the economic coal mine. We saw this in the slowdown following the 2001 terrorist attacks, when the market tanked and a number of companies -- Kmart and Kodiak among them -- suddenly saw their race programs as unnecessary expenditures. Even winning races, as former team owner Andy Petree discovered, wasn't enough to justify the multi-million-dollar investments that companies had to make to stay competitive in NASCAR. His team eventually shut down, as did Travis Carter's and Junie Donlavey's, and as did Morgan-McClure this year. The times may not be quite as dark, but the parallels between 2001 and today are clearly there, evident in blank hoods and closed shop doors. (Continued)