While the economy has taken its toll on the Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series, the downturn in NASCAR's number one and two divisions is nothing compared to what the NASCAR World Truck Series will face in 2009.
With struggling manufacturers pulling their support and sponsorship dollars drying up, several reports claim only a dozen teams are currently set to run the entire 25-race schedule.
NASCAR has conducted a series of meetings with team owners in an effort to cut costs and expenses for the coming season with several ideas discussed.
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| Kevin Harvick, who runs in all three NASCAR series, says it's tough to convince a sponsor right now. (Getty Images) |
The truck series started in the mid-1990s as NASCAR searched for a way to capitalize on the fast-growing consumer pickup truck sales movement manufacturers were enjoying.
It was a niche market that developed into one of NASCAR's best-ever business decisions as the truck series grew by leaps and bounds.
Current NASCAR CEO Brian France -- then working in the sanctioning body under his father Bill Jr. -- is credited with bringing the series to life.
"The four guys who brought the idea, the concept, to NASCAR got an audience with Bill France Jr.," said NASCAR representative Owen Kearns. "He signed off on the deal, but at that time Brian was sort of working his way through the company on the West Coast, learning how to be a short-track operator and learning how tours operate. Bill felt this was a great opportunity for Brian to actually take a role in a project."
"Brian went out and sold the sponsorship and put together a complete television broadcast package, which had never been done in NASCAR to that point. Essentially, from an executive standpoint, it was Brian's series."
After being born on the short tracks of America, the trucks evolved into a circuit NASCAR could take to its bigger tracks and facilities previously reserved for Cup and Nationwide racing.
"If you look back at the pictures of the trucks back in 1995, like the old saying goes, it looked like they threw away the truck and kept the box,' said Kearns, remembering the early days. "They were flat in the front, flat in the back and like a brick. But when the series was first conceived, nobody had any idea that we were going to race Daytona. The longest tracks during the first year were the race at Milwaukee and the two races at Phoenix, and everything else was fifth-eighths mile or below."
The big, bulky pickups consistently provided fans with side-by-side racing and close competition that had many calling the series NASCAR's best.
"I think we put on a great show pretty much wherever we race and that the fans have embraced that," said veteran driver Todd Bodine. "I've driven in the Cup and Nationwide Series as a regular and I can honestly say racing in the truck series is the most fun I've had as a driver."
In time, the series saw the involvement of powerful NASCAR team owners such as Rick Hendrick, Jack Roush and Richard Childress and became a breeding ground for future stars of the sport with Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch and Greg Biffle all using truck success as a springboard to the sport's top division.
But despite its rich history and reputation for tight competition and action-packed races, the truck series hasn't been able to outrace the economy.
Although NASCAR was able to find a replacement title sponsor for Craftsman, which had backed the series since its inception, teams haven't been able to lure other companies to come into the series this year to provide the much-needed funding it needs.
"It's just a tough assignment to convince a company that is facing financial problems to sink money into the sponsorship of a race team right now," said Kevin Harvick, who owns both a Nationwide Series and truck team in addition to his Sprint Cup driving duties for Richard Childress Racing. "That's not to say it can't be done and we have some great sponsors at KHI. It's just a tough deal."
NASCAR did arrive at a few changes earlier this week that will bring down team expenses, including limiting the number of crew personnel allowed over the wall during pit stops as well as capping each crew at 12 members.
Teams will also not be allowed to pit for fuel and tires during one stop and must choose one or the other on each trip down pit road.
Additionally, new engine rules will go into effect that will stop teams from using different motors at three consecutive events.
These new policies along with the NASCAR testing ban should help teams lop off several thousands of dollars in operating expenses.
But will it be enough?
