Hard times in Nascar Nation

After being the hot sport, at least in terms of sponsorship, for a number of years, Nascar has slipped badly recently.

• 12 of the 42 drivers have no sponsor for the 2009 season
• TV ads were down in 2008 to $539mil, a drop from $567mil in 2007
• Both TV ratings and track attendance have dropped three years in a row

Nonetheless, Nascar still remains the #1 sport in trerms of sponsorship, and trails only NFL in most other measures. Still, the numbers above seem particularly troubling when you consider than the full effects of the automakers' problems haven't been factored in yet for Nascar.