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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Racers Stand Behind GM
GM’s stock fell 22 percent on Friday to $1.45 a share, amid reports that the company was weighing the possibility of reorganizing through a bankruptcy filing...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted March 07, 2009   Harrisburg, NC
How financial restructuring might affect GM’s involvement in NASCAR is unclear. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Shares of beleaguered automaker General Motors hit a 75-year low on Friday, as U.S. auto sales continue to free fall. But at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Friday, NASCAR Sprint Cup racers continued to reiterate their support of the company.

GM’s stock fell 22 percent on Friday to $1.45 a share, amid reports that the company was weighing the possibility of reorganizing through a bankruptcy filing and news that overall U.S. auto sales fell more than 41 percent last month.

The automaker later issued a statement clarifying the bankruptcy reports, saying, “The company firmly believes an in-court restructuring would carry with it tremendous costs and risks, the most significant being a dramatic deterioration of revenue due to lost sales.”

How a restructuring, either through bankruptcy or otherwise, might affect GM’s involvement in NASCAR is unclear. But for the racers, until they hear differently, it’s business as usual.

“As far as I’m concerned they’re still committed and so are we to offer them all that we can from a racing standpoint hoping that marketing in racing is still extremely important to them,” said four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon. “I’m a Chevy dealer. They’ve got some of the best cars out there that they’re offering up to the customers that I’ve ever seen in the years that I’ve been in this sport.”

And while he remains a staunchly committed supported of GM and Chevrolet, Gordon said he was well aware of the gravity of the situation the automaker is facing. “I think that obviously they’re concerned and obviously they should be and so should America in general,” Gordon said. “The economy is being affected in a big way and they play a vital role in the economy. Of course we all want to see them get things turned around and it’s not going to happen overnight. We’re just going to support them just like they support us until I hear otherwise and I haven’t heard otherwise.”

Tony Stewart, who left Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota to rejoin GM with his own team, said consumers need to help get the nation’s dismal economy turned around. “We have to take an active role ourselves and I’m not saying as drivers or as NASCAR, but our whole country together,” said Stewart, co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing. “We’ve got to get off our wallets and we’ve got to go back to being Americans again and living our lives they way we’re used to. And I know that’s easier said than done, but I think every time you turn on the news, you’re petrified. I sit there and watch the news and I beg to be able to turn the channel to something else to where I’m not so depressed. It’s partially reality but at the same time, the only way to get through it is to resume doing what we do again.”

Like Gordon, Stewart cited the improvement in recent GM products as proof the automaker is stepping up. “The good news is that GM is doing their part,” Stewart said. “Chevy is building cars that are affordable and economical and efficient and from a manufacturer’s side, that’s all you can ask for. And I feel like they’ve really responded and have done a good job in that aspect. The fallout if we lose any of these manufacturers is going to be tremendous and I think it’s at a stage now to where we can’t rely on our government to do it all for us.”

Jeff Burton, who drives a Chevrolet Impala SS for Richard Childress Racing, concurred. “My experience with Chevrolet in particular and their new vehicles, if people go sit in them and drive them they’re going to buy them,” said Burton. “They’ve made huge improvements. So my biggest concern as it relates to Chevrolet is freeing up credit and giving people the security that they want to buy a car, that they have a job. We can talk about Chevrolet but the real key is, what is the overall economy?”

Burton said he isn’t worried about GM’s staying involved in racing as he is the company’s overall health. “Chevrolet has shown for years that they’re very committed to racing and that commitment is not going to go away,” said Burton. “But if our economy doesn’t get jump started, if credit doesn’t get freed up, if people don’t feel secure about their jobs then not only is Chevrolet going to have a problem there’s a lot of manufacturers of a lot of different products that are going to have major problems.”

Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to

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