Wow... this economy is killing me! Thankfully I am in a good job and am stable (right now), but I keep watching the cards fall in racing and it really bothers me. Let's recap:
- FIA announces "cost cutting" plans for F1
- Honda drops F1 program
- FIA announces a spec engine and drive train
- Audi drops LeMans programs (both Europe and US)
- Porsche drops LeMans program
- FIA announces the Skoda (spec) S2000 car for WRC
- Subraru drops WRC program
- Suzuki suspends WRC program
In my opinion F1, LeMans and WRC are the top tier of racing. It appears that the economic impacts are rippling through the racing sport and industry. I have the feeling that this is just the beginning. With Detroit in turmoil, how long before Nascar starts really feeling pain (as a note, I hate Nascrap)?
I guess for us low buck racers, auto-crossers, grassroots folk it means we should see more turnout at our events and local events.
What falls next? What do you think the long term impacts are to racing? The auto industry?
Brad
To be honest, most of the WRC nonsense is due to the FIA screwing up a good thing. Same with F1.
Audi and Porsche dropping ALMS, only means they are moving to Grand Am (unfortunately as Grand Am isn't as interesting to me as ALMS is) or they really are cutting costs, which given Audi's reign in LMP1 and Porsche's reign in LMP2 isn't surprising as they've proven their point and they both know from experience that the rules will change significantly to make their success more difficult to attain.
I agree with you that F1, LeMans and WRC are at the top of the heap and that things look dire.
And, while not a huge NASCAR fan, I did read an article after their year end event that outlined the gloom facing that series as well. Here is a snippet of the article.
Mass layoffs are expected throughout NASCAR this week, as team owners from all three national series adjust to the economic crisis. It’s difficult to say how many will be put out of work, but some guess as many as 1,000 will lose their jobs.
The cutbacks are most evident at the top-level Sprint Cup Series, where layoffs began a mere two months into the season when BAM Racing stopped showing up at the track. Then Chip Ganassi let 71 people go when he cut down to two cars in July.
The numbers have steadily grown since, reaching all the way to the elite teams of NASCAR. Hendrick Motorsports, Roush Fenway Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing — three teams that combined to grab nine of the 12 spots in the Chase for the Championship — have all gone through a round of layoffs in the past month.
It all paled to last Wednesday, when Dale Earnhardt Inc. gave pink slips to 116 employees so it could ease the way for a merger with Ganassi.
“It’s gut-wrenching to make those decisions,” DEI president Max Siegel said.
I think it has a hell of a lot more to do with the FIA's idiotic ideas than any actual losses...
This reminds me of all those Sprint/Nextel commercials saying what if "some kinda average group of people" were in charge. Except I'd like to pose a better question.
What if the grm message boards ran F1, ALMS and WRC?
Also remember that Porsche, Audi, Skoda, Seat and Volkswagen are all intertwined. I bet there will be more inexpensive operations like the TDi Cup and WRC S2000 programs.
F1 would become the $2009 open-wheel challenge, ALMS would become Miata vs E30 vs P71 racing ala Touring Cars, and WRC would become Saab Rally! 
It sounds like Audi will still be competing in the 24 hours, just not in the ALMS for the whole year. The series looks like it still has hope however, with Porsche, Ferrari, corvette, BMW, and maybe even others competing in GT2. I am looking forward to GT2 even more than the prototypes, though with Audi gone LMP1 should be more wide open than any time in the last 8 years.
Oh yes, all you have to do is look for my name, same as here, over at the model car forum I go to it's a big deal
http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=16462&st=0&gopid=141824&#entry141824
Salanis
SuperDork
12/16/08 4:36 p.m.
Think about it this way: All those fantastic vehicles will be sold off to the highest bidders. We may not be able to buy them, personally, but there will likely be a trickle-down of badass cars as people step up their game and sell what they had previously been running.
Power to the people!
/Internet Rumour On/
I heard on another forum that Subaru's exit is not so much about the economy, but because the spec transmission in the Spec Super-2000 cars cannot be adapted to their boxer engines so they are effectively getting booted from the series in 2010. Because they are not currently one of the front runners, they are pulling the plug a year early and using the economy as a scapegoat, instead of soldiering on with a lackluster car.
/Internet Rumour Off/
I haven't seen the rules for 2010 so I don't know anything about the Spec cars. Does anyone know if this is true or not?
Bob
Tom Heath
Production Editor
12/16/08 6:24 p.m.
I'd heard a similar rumor, but can't remember the source.
The optimist in me wonders if this could have a positive impact on Subaru's US rally program. I can't imagine Subaru of America would abandon their motorsport programs as a result of this, and the WRC is obscenely expensive. [crossed fingers]
onasled
New Reader
12/16/08 7:21 p.m.
Well, at least Trans -Am is back.
Maybe we will start to see some of the old big names back in SCCA Pro racing.
We look forward to seeing Trans-Am making a come back. Let's hope it sticks. Our car should be ready mid season. 
So, clarifying on a point (honestly not sure if it was in this thread or the linked thread), but I didn't mean to say that there would not be Porsches or Audis in the series, just that the companies had pulled out. There wouldn't be a factory works team.
The immediate affect is to level the field and provide the "tickle down" of the top notch cars to the privateer teams. My opinion is that it is like cutting with a dull knife. Don't get me wrong, I support many of the small, non-factory teams, but I always want to see where the factory will push the technology. Especially in F1 and LeMans.
Go back a couple years and think about Audi's dominance with the R8. You could argue that there was no reason to keep pushing. What did they win? 5 of 6? The R8 will go down as one of the all time great sports cars on par with Porsche 917s and the Ford GT40s. But Audi pushed further and brought the R10, then Peugot brought their diesel car... the sport moves forward. And now petrol based LMP1 cars are the junior varsity.
If Audi had stopped with the R8, the "trickle down" would have resulted in an unofficial spec-R8 series. Everyone would have ran an R8 with a different paint scheme. Why run anything else?
Spec is good for drivers like me, for others that are starting out... it should not be the pinnacle of the sport. Innovation at the track pushes technology to our daily drivers. I could go on a tangent rant here about Nascar's "innovation" and the "Car of the Future" and how that ties to their diminished sales, but I'll let it go. I think you get the point.
Without company based teams in the top of the sport... might as well stick with used cars. Nothing good is coming from the manufacturers for a while.
Sad....
