• Ad Age , Monday, December 8, 2008 11 AM

Rich Thomaselli's lede makes you cringe the way you do when you pass the aftermath of a collision on the freeway: "Once-unstoppable NASCAR is hitting a wall as its fan base erodes, race attendance declines, TV ratings slip, the auto industry implodes and economically stressed marketers slam the brakes on sponsorships."

But wait, it gets worse. NASCAR has been forced to lay off 1,000 employees and may even lose money in 2009, Thomaselli reports. Twelve of NASCAR's 42 full-time drivers don't have primary sponsors for the 2009 season yet. Two long-time sponsors have quit. Eastman Kodak ended a 22-year relationship; Sears Roebuck departed after 13 years. Advertisers spent $538.8 million on TV ads surrounding NASCAR programming from January through September of this year, down from $567.2 million in the same time period in 2007.

But NASCAR maintains it's still on track. "While we're not immune to the downturn, by many measures and just about every important metric, we are in a strong position," says Andrew Giangola, vp-business communications. "We're still the second-highest- rated sports programming on TV, and while attendance is down, we still average about 120,000 fans per race."

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