Dave Despain on last nights Speed Wind Tunnel program quoted the NASCAR Chairman as having met with the Detroit auto manufacturers. At least at this time, they will continue to support, not defined, their racing programs as part of their Marketing effort.
Realistically, NASCAR has to take a positive public
PR approach with 2009 ticket renewals , to keep the same seats or upgrades, already due or due within a month, New Hampshire ticket renewals for the Sept 2009 race due by Dec 1st
Cost reduction in NASCAR will have to take on additional emphasis, with reduced testing, fewer days at the track, shorter races, etc. An exception already announced being the Carroll Shelby sponsored 2009 Las Vegas race extended to 427 miles
Mentioned is NASCAR becoming more actively involved in obtaining Team sponsors, but will not be subsidizing those teams with weak financial resources.
The series sponsor is also having financial challenges, not related to NASCAR, with Sprint/Nextel having lost over a million plus subscribers in a short time frame to other vendors.
Another comment is freezing any changes to the COT unless there is a direct safety improvement. While some drivers and crew chiefs may not like the COT, it's the identical challenge for everyone, places the emphasis on the entire race organization including the pit crew with positions gained or lost on pit stops. The COT should not impact the performance of the pit crews.