NASCAR has grown from a sport whereby a driver could pull his showroom stock car to the track (with modifications of course), qualify and run it on Sunday and go home with a paycheck and a reasonable profit. Not anymore. Today's top teams need millions of dollars and even then the chance of a real profit is unusual. Just ask Jack Roush and others who had to lay off employees recently. Things are not good.

Part of this is the so-called Car of Tomorrow (which quickly became the car of today). Yes, the old car so aptly named the "twisted sister" was out of hand, and yes, the cars needed to be safer, but it cost most of these teams a whole lot of money to re-tool for the COT. Besides the steep learning curve the new car presented the teams (ask Jack Roush last year or Rick Hendrick this year), it also inhibited cash flow. Yes, safety is more than important, but financial survival is paramount.

With the financial system crumbling, race tams need the money corporate America was so willing to give them such a short time ago, and now it's dried up pretty much. What is a sanctioning body to do? I don't know.

Look at the present teams that have sponsorship problems. Look no farther than DEI. That's the team created by the late Dale Earnhardt for his son. It really no longer exists because sponsorships could not be found. In just 15 months, DEI went from having sponsorships with Budweiser, Bass Pro Shops, Menards, and the US Army to having only one. The only way to survive was to merge with Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, who lost Havoline and other sponsors. Opinions vary on whether or not this will work.

Yates Racing spent 2008 without any sponsorship and with Paul Menard bringing his family backing next year that means they have one for three cars. How long can that last? Petty Enterprises and the Wood Brothers, both who have been in this series for more than a half century, have no sponsorships. The Pettys at least have a financial backer. There's a strong possibility that several members of the elite Top 35 in points may not be around next year. At last count, nine of the top 35 have no sponsorship for 2009, and it's getting might late to find one. Even teams owned by the icons are still looking.

In the meantime, ticket prices continue to rise and RV parking fees do the same. I attend more than 15 races a year in my duties as a NASCAR editor for a major news wire service. Not once did I see the kind of crowds I saw two years ago. The reason is simple. The cost of admission, RV parking, hotel rooms, lack of employment or reduced employment, and gasoline prices have just made people think twice about spending the money to see races that tend to be predictable as well as the general mental funk that seems to be prevalent in the country at present. Yes, fans still watch on TV in at least close to comparative numbers, but there is no doubt that NASCAR is in recession.

I have to hope that no one saw it coming. I'll give credit to O. Bruton Smith at Speedway Motorsports for taking quick action. A strong PR campaign among those who hold season tickets at the SMI tracks offers discounted tickets and RV parking, but many tracks are holding the line and hoping for the best. That's foolish. It was also encouraging to see NASCAR try to stop the bleeding by banning testing at NASCAR sanctioned tracks. Many owners, including Jack Roush and others unnamed (according Roush) are considering signing a pledge to not test anywhere in 2009. Good luck with that. Remember the moratorium on COT testing. I'm sure Mr. Roush will be keeping an eye on the competition.