GM cutting factory support in NNS?

Yes. COmplete article:

GM's cuts in Truck, N'wide heighten carmaker stress

Owners understand move during tough financial time

By David Caraviello, NASCAR.COM

June 12, 2009

05:52 PM EDT

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BROOKLYN, Mich. -- The plants that build American passenger cars may be 75 miles away, but their influence is always felt at Michigan International Speedway. In many ways this is Detroit's race track, a facility that attracts the attention of the domestic manufacturers involved in NASCAR, and a place where all of them want to win. Now, though, that intrinsic connection with the Motor City is being felt in different, less encouraging ways.

Cutting support

General Motors is cutting factory support for Chevrolet teams competing in the Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series as the automaker restructures under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Complete story

The plight of bankrupt General Motors hit NASCAR broadside Friday, when it became clear that the struggling carmaker was eliminating its financial support to teams that sport its Chevrolet brand in the Nationwide and Camping World Truck series. The owners of Kevin Harvick Inc. and JR Motorsports both confirmed that funding to their organizations had been discontinued, and other teams braced for similar cuts.

"I have to keep racing, and we'll keep racing General Motors products, for sure," said Richard Childress, who fields a car on the Nationwide circuit, and plans to meet with GM officials next week. "They've been good to us for many, many, many years. We've had a great partnership, and we've just got to see what comes out of it. Everybody's going through tough times right now. ... You do what you've got to do to survive. If you want to keep racing, you do what you've got to do."

Harvick, whose team fields competitive entries on both the Nationwide and Truck series -- including the No. 33 truck of Ron Hornaday, second in points entering Saturday's race at Michigan -- confirmed in a statement that his organization had lost factory support, and would require some internal restructuring as a result. JR Motorsports owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. said that funding to his single-car Nationwide entry had been pulled, and that he would try to make up the financial difference.

"We'll try to do the best we can to cover the void that will create. Chevrolet is going through some very challenging times, and I had a true understanding that this would be coming down the pipe and they would have to make some adjustments. Every company, not only this company, but particularly having a couple of my own, I've had to make adjustments due to how the economy has turned. So it wouldn't be any different for anybody else," said Earnhardt, whose driver Brad Keselowski is fourth in Nationwide points entering Saturday's race in Kentucky.

"Obviously, the support that Chevy was able to provide us was in a lot of ways a privilege only to a few teams. Not everybody had that support. You see a lot of other guys who are getting to the race track without that kind of manufacturer support. To me, it was always a feather in your cap and never taken for granted. We'll be able to try to do some unique programs with our sponsors and future partners to try to cover that expense. But I personally in no way feel like it's changed my relationship with or my perception toward Chevrolet and how I work with them in the future."

GM, Chevy's parent company, is currently restructuring under a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing and is in the process of shuttering or idling many of its production plants. Chevrolet representatives would not confirm Friday that the Truck and Nationwide cuts were occurring, saying only that the company is in the midst of a thorough review of expenditures, and that it would not discuss the details of its business relationships.

"We're continuing to manage how this business is run from every regard," said Pat Suhy, group manager for GM Racing. "It's not just racing, it's everywhere from manufacturing to engineering, all the other sales and marketing activities. We're going through a reinvention. We'll find out where we come out of it on the back end, and continue to be successful here and elsewhere."

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What people have to get through their heads is that we're going to be racing race cars ... with or without [the manufacturers]. The amount of support they provide us is important, but we can continue to race without that support.

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GREG BIFFLE

Exactly how much financial assistance race teams receive from manufacturers is a closely guarded secret. Not all teams receive the same amount, and some smaller operations in the Nationwide or Truck garages -- even those that bear carmaker logos -- may be getting little to no support at all. Earnhardt said manufacturer money comprised only a "very small" percentage of his Nationwide team's operating budget, with the bulk of it coming from sponsor money.

Now that manufacturing money is going away, but

This is really a political question. The courts and the Obama administration do not understand the significance that Nascar plays in the sale of domestic cars. Toyota understood or why would they have spent the considerable time and money required to join Nascar? The bankruptcy process will last up to 90 days and we may see even cup payments stopped and contracts rescinded. After this process is complete GM and Chevy will again put there marketing money where it helps the most, back in Nascar. The heavily sponsored GM teams will remain loyal during this time. They may remove the bow ties to avoid criticism from congress and left leaning groups. GM's support may never be as large as it has been because they will be smaller but it will return when this transition period ends.

I think some of those owners have enough money to stay afloat for awhile, just how long I can't say. Some will last longer than others, but I don't think it will deeply affect the sport, and if it does, it will get better in time. If worse comes to worst, the teams running GM cars can always look to Rick Hendrick for some minimal support. He can afford to lease a few pieces of equipment.

I THINK IT WILL BE CROSS THE BOARD BUT THE ACTUAL CASH FLOW THROUGHOUT TEAMS NO MATTER THE SERIES. I THOUGHT AT FIRST IT WILL AFFECT THE TRUCK SERIES AND NATIONWIDE SERIES THE MOST BUT I THINK THE TEAMS IN THESE SERIES WITH SUPPORT ALREADY HAVE IT FROM BEING A CUP TEAM OR CUP AFFILIATED. AND THE CASH FLOW TO TEAMS IS NOT AS MUCH AS YOU THINK. I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT AMOUNT(IT VARIES) BUT THE TEAMS WILL STILL GET TECHNICAL SUPPORT/TECHNICAL SUPPORT. HOWEVER IT HAS BEEN REPORTED ON NASCAR NOW ON ESPN2 THAT THE CASHFLOW GOING TO TEAMS WILL BE CUT AROUND 30%. BESIDES NOT EVERY GM TEAM OUT THERE IN ALL SERIES AREN'T GETTING THE SAME GM SUPPORT LIKE SAY HENDRICK OR CHILDRESS. THE MAIN GM TEAMS HENDRICK AND RCR I THINK WON'T REALLY BE AFFECTED BUT THATS WHY ITS SO IMPORTANT FOR TEAMS LIKE STEWART HAAS TO BE CONNECTED TO AN ORGANIZATION LIKE HENDRICK. BUT WITH THE PROBLEM THEY ARE IN, I THINK ITS THE RIGHT MOVE OR ATLEAST A GOOD START FOR GM AND CAR COMPANIES TO CUT BACK IN AREAS SUCH AS CASH FLOW. ALL COMPANIES CUT BACK IN UNEEDED AREAS OF SPENDING AND KEEP YOUR EMPLOYEES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!BECAUSE WITHOUT JOBS PEOPLE AREN'T GOING TO BUY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I read on Yahoo sports a short time ago that GM is making cuts across the board..

i think this would the right time for NASCAR to demand Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Mitsubishi, BMW, VW or any non-American automaker that sell cars in the US to get into NASCAR while GM is still in the early phases before GM ends up gone from NASCAR. i would if i was in charge if NASCAR, even if the fans are pissed with the fact that Toyota is in NASCAR.

Yeh I had sort of qustioned with nationwide they are killing jr motor sports and khi it's insane

Yes, certainly a sad day in motorsports.

i don`t know?