NASCAR sponsorship money drying up

About a week after becoming a former Sprint Cup driver when his team was shut down, Dario Franchitti was asked how things were going. "Not great," Franchitti said. "It was a big shock that it happened." That shock, some around NASCAR are saying, could soon be spreading like crabgrass. Tough economic times have descended upon the American economy, and that spells bad news for a sport that is joined at the hip, shoulders and ankles to the business community. Sponsorship money for teams, cars and drivers appears to be thinning significantly, some are saying. Asked last week what he thinks the sponsorship picture looks like right now, Jeff Burton — one of the headier drivers in NASCAR — said, "It's lean. It's very lean." Kansas City Star