Quote Originally Posted by Jag_Warrior
The best that I can give you, Chuck, is that anything which affects the overall economy MAY affect IRL sponsorships. So yeah, a company that now says, "No!" may end up saying "Hell no!" if business conditions get worse.

I don't know why NASCAR's numbers are down. The COT is quite ugly, IMO. But at the same time, one driver and team has been completely dominating the series. F1's TV numbers fell off the longer Schumacher dominated that series. So while there may be a correlation to spec racing and falling popularity, I don't know that there is causation.

As for what the IRL can do to increase ROI, since I have no idea at this point, I'll just agree with whatever ideas you may have. My idea of enlisting some Zetas to kidnap high profile NASCAR drivers' family members, forcing them to race part time in the IRL and at the Indy 500 might be considered a bit radical. Short of that, I am a believer in the power of prayer. So I'll suggest that too.
Or a sponsor that says ok now to a little bit, may end up saying no. Or a primary sponsor now may fall to an associate level. Etc. I don't belive that most companies in the IRL will stay at the same funding levels after a tax increase (contract dependent). And that does of course, also factor in ROI issues as you rightly pointed out.