Although it is believed GM will continue to provide (Chevrolet) support for some Sprint Cup teams, its operations inside the series will be cut dramatically. The first teams announcing they have held talks with the GM representatives over this matter were championship “big guns” Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart-Haas Racing.
“We had very productive conversations this week with the folks at General Motors, and it's clear they are committed to racing and committed to our organization. They've asked us for some help, and we're going to give it to them. We're proud to be a Chevy team, and we will do our part to support the new GM both on and off the racetrack,” Rick Hendrick was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
“While this cutback will force us to review our budget at SHR, it will not impact our preparation for the track or the return on investment we provide to our partners,” added Stewart-Haas Racing owner and current leader of the Sprint Cup standings Tony Stewart.
Unlike in the Nationwide and Truck Series, GM will continue to be partners with its most important teams in the Sprint Cup Series, only on a crisis-budget basis. The news was confirmed by Chevrolet spokesman Terry Rhadigan.
GM is not the only manufacturer to proceed to important cuts in terms of sports operations as a result of the economic crisis that has struck the North American car makers. Chrysler announced it has cut their funding over all their NASCAR teams throughout the 2009 season (in all major series), while Ford did the same thing in the 2009 Truck Series.
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