Big 3 Exec says NASCAR gives “zero” return

UPDATE We are hearing that it won't just be one of the Big 3, but all three of them, putting pressure…well, let's call it what it is; an ultimatum…to NASCAR regarding their "racertainment" on-track product. Relevancy is the key. Without it, they have no "Race on Sunday, sell on Monday" to justify the hundreds of millions of dollars they shovel into the series every year.

A series of meetings are to take place, beginning with this weekend's Rolex 24. They want fuel injection, alternative fuels and green racing themes, cars that actually represent their brand. Engines that are not all basically the same, among other things.

We hear this is a very serious ultimatum that could see all of the manufacturers pulling out together. It seems they all know they need to stick together on these issues to create any value out of NASCAR for them for the future.

01/13/10 We are hearing that one of the head execs of one of the Big 3 is heading to the Daytona 500 to wield a hammer, instead of sipping Crown Royal and rubbing elbows with other execs and drivers in a posh suite. He apparently is someone who thinks that racing should have more relevance to what they sell.

We have heard this very same thing from other manufacturers lately, with the pullout of BMW from F1 and concentrating on sports cars and saloon car style racing. Audi has been in this same philosophical mode for a long time.

The rumor is that there will be ultimatums made to NASCAR, and we know how the France name has reacted to that sort of proposal before; they usually don't care. They just do what they do.