How the economy is Affecting Sports: Corporate Sponsors

Even if you think NASCAR doesn’t qualify as a sport, it is hard to deny it is at least a spectator event, drawing over 100,000 people to the track on average. The difference between NASCAR and other professional sports is its high reliance on corporate sponsors to support their teams, drivers, and cars, making it the perfect launching platform into how the economy is affecting corporate sponsorship.  I mean who doesn’t think Dale Earnhardt is a name synonymous with Budweiser? Recently though, NASCAR has been struggling because of the economy and it’s affect on how much corporations can denote to racing. NASCAR legend Richard Petty said last month, “The economy changed everything,” as he tried to explain the off-season decision to close Petty Enterprises, begun in 1949 by his father, Lee Petty. The team merged with Gillett Evernham Motorsports and will race under the name Richard Petty Motorsports.