If automakers get a bailout, should NASCAR die?

Filed under: Motorsports, Chrysler, LLC., Ford, GM, Toyota

A columnist over at Slate.com is recommending -- and not lightly, he wants you to know -- that with the domestic automakers enduring "Detroit's version of The Troubles," now would be a good time to "euthanize" NASCAR. He makes a long argument, but the crux of it is simple: if the domestics get a heap of money from the government, should that money really be used to sponsor a specialized race series that arguably doesn't have the national pull or the return it once did? His supporting arguments are sometimes disingenuous and occasionally slightly off-base, but the question is worth considering. If the public loans money to the automakers, who decides where that money is spent? Yet, if Ford, GM, and Chrysler were to do the same thing to NASCAR that Honda, Suzuki, Audi, and Subaru have been doing, well... that would leave NASCAR as a one-make series featuring, ta-da, Toyota. And wouldn't that be something to see? Thanks for the tip, Josh!

[Source: Slate]

If automakers get a bailout, should NASCAR die? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 16 Dec 2008 18:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read |  |  | 

Related posts:

• Revolfe Aristo
• It's Official: The US is Not Going to Get the Upcoming VW Scirocco!
• Alessandra Ambrosio
• Russell Datz, confirmed gearhead, to handle Fisker communications
• VW Golf GTI: Two official mods shown at Woerthersee

Related posts:

• Spy Shots: Subaru/Toyota rear-wheel-drive coupe
• Kenny From The Brack Takes the Pole at X
• In Detail: Toyota-Subaru’s rear-wheel-drive sports car
• Banjo-Pickin' 1988 Subarus Invade Tennessee! [Classic Ad Watch]
• More Info On the Return of the Toyota AE86 aka RWD Corolla