Thanks for the link. At least I finally found a bailout I can be happy about. I love seeing the new teams!

I just think with the COT you really only need 1 car. So you can have 1 car nd as long as you don’t wreck it, You can run all the races with it.
With low fields predicted, It will be easier for teams to make the races so if you have money to buy a couple cars, get a decent driver, some good crew members, Its the best time to start a team.

Very interesting Tbone. I have to agree that it does seem a little bit fishy. If for no other reason than the fact that people would start new teams when the economy is so bad. But on the other hand, NASCAR has said that they would not bail out any teams. But it wouldn’t be the first time that an organization did not do as it said, anything is possible.

NASCAR did not get “bailout” money, ISC however may be eligible for a tax break..
NASCAR however, has always helped teams to find sponsors, and get funding in other ways, and even offered “incentives” designed to help struggling teams go racing…
This policy is designed to further the sport, and has been going on since NASCARs beginning..

I kind of doubt it Tbone, but we’ll never know. We only know what’s in the bill by what the media tells us, and the media only tells us what the government tells it. Therefore we can assume that that’s all the government wants us to know. On the other hand, if the France family funded a “bailout”, we will definitely never know.
Is anybody else thinking conspiracy theory.

i think some of the new teams are funded by the crab people from middle earth on the condition that all hendrick and gibbs drivers be replaced by clones from the horse head nebula. here, i’ll post a link to prove my whole theory and blow this thing right out of the wa……. oh damn, who are those guys in dark glasses coming this way? oh no! they must be on to me. tell the world my story. LET GO OF ME YOU BASTAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRDS!!!
oh, ok, after re-reading your question i see you didn’t mean goverment bailout $, you mean to suggest the france family is personally laying down cash to fund teams i guess. still, it’s just as perposterous
yep, good link, i stand corrected. although reading the article it sounds like this tax break has been in affect since 1986, not specifically part of the recent $700 billion bailout. still, unbelievable here i am struggleing to survive paying nearly a third of my paycheck to the government and they’re turning around and giving it to billionaires

1) coincidence
2) they’re still struggling
3) thank God for the merger
4) shhhh! you’ll jinx the ‘09 season

I hope not. I like to support NASCAR voluntarily; I wouldn’t want my taxes to finance a NASCAR team

I think that while you raise some very interesting points, I doubt that NASCAR paid to create these teams to fill out the field.
With the way NASCAR is covered in the media, with all of the leaks, there is very little to no chance that, had NASCAR done this, it wouldn’t have made it in the press.
I think there are a combination of reasons for all of these teams popping up. First, the amount it costs to run Nationwide is comparable to running Sprint Cup, I hear. Back in the day, teams would start in Nationwide/Busch and then move to Cup once they got better. Now, with the mega-teams competing in Nationwide, and bringing big time sponsors with them, it has become just as competitive as Cup, and just as expensive.
So, when you’re thinking about starting a team, you’re more likely lure a sponsor if you’re in Cup rather than Nationwide, which hardly garners the audience Cup does.
NASCAR also banned testing at NASCAR tracks. That results in huge savings because you don’t have to pay to test at the track, you don’t have to pay lodging and transportation costs for team members during the test. Not to mention the cost you’re saving on fuel and tires.
I think a lot of the new teams figure that now is the cheapest time to get into the sport. So, why not start now, when it is cheap, and take a chance of getting a couple top 15 runs, build some cars and a cash reserve, so that when things recover and sponsors come back to the sport, you have enough cash and technical expertise that you’re actually competitive and contending for wins and the championship?