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The Human Side of a General Motors Collapse

An Opinion



April 4, 2009

By Brenda Benedict

Brenda Benedict



For those of us in Michigan, the economic troubles of General Motors are not just something we read about in the paper. It is reality that has affected almost every citizen of this state. For me, the economic downturn has a face on it. That reality is the fact that three of my children are no longer part of my daily life because they have had to leave Michigan. And it isn’t what I had planned for my life.

NASCAR may have to face something that they had not planned for. The grim reality is that sponsorship and support by the American auto industry may be drawing to a close or drastically changed in the very near future.

CarandDriver.com brought us an April Fool’s joke that wasn’t funny. They published a story stating that President Obama had ordered General Motors and Dodge to abandon their NASCAR support after the 2009 season. The Car and Driver website stated, “A complete withdrawal from America's premier racing series is expected to save more than $250 million between GM and Chrysler, a substantial amount considering the drastic measures being implemented elsewhere."

The hoax quickly spread across the Internet. Car and Driver later apologized by saying that they had gone too far. I did not find this joke to be funny. It was too close to reality to be funny or clever.

In a week where General Motors and Chrysler were both notified that any government assistance was going to be very limited and come with many strings attached, the fact they may be dropping their present support of NASCAR seems to be a likely outcome.

Michigan residents have felt the effects of the economic downturn for several years now. Our entire economy is related to the auto industry or affected by the auto industry. I was not employed by the auto industry but I taught the children of those who were. My livelihood depended on success of that industry. Even though the Big Three automakers were/are plagued with mismanagement, huge, out of touch union contracts and poor quality products, they are important to our lives here and your lives as well, if you are a person living within the United States.

This truth became very clear to me when I realized a sad fact in my personal life. In the last four years, three of my children have moved out of Michigan to find jobs. Our unemployment rate in Michigan is currently the highest in the nation at 12% but in some regions of the state it is at 17%. But that unemployment rate has a face on it for me.

Just four years ago my children were all living within a ten mile drive from me. But as the prospect of finding a job in Michigan became unlikely, my family began to spread across the country.

My husband and I recently made a car trip to visit three of our children. It took us several thousand miles to accomplish what used to take a drive of only several miles.

First one child moved to Phoenix to find a job with more guarantee of a future. Then another child left for a better job in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Finally, my daughter who teaches high school biology left for North Carolina where the availability of teaching jobs was greater. The benefit there is that she is living in Concord just seven miles from Lowes Motor Speedway.

Tony Stewart addressed questions about GM’s commitment to NASCAR in a press conference on Tuesday. When I first read his response to reporter questions, I thought it might be some kind of April Fool’s joke. Stewart said, “The people at Chevrolet they're very committed to the racing program. They realize the value of it with not only the rest of corporate America but what it does to our nation.  It still goes back to 'win on Sunday, sell on Monday.'  This is a sport that's been good for the auto industry and vice versa.”

If Stewart’s attitude is representative of the outlook of people in NASCAR, then they are going to be very shocked when the support that they were counting on is taken away.

The week’s news of General Motors coming forced restructuring has huge implications for NASCAR. Despite what NASCAR may be saying, the $100 million dollar investment in NASCAR is at risk and the effect on the future for NASCAR may be great.

But I am not happy with the choices my children have had to make in order to make a living. NASCAR may not be happy with the choices they may face either. Life as they know it now may be changing and the sport may be forced to reevaluate how they do business when life as they know and love is forever changed.




You can contact Brenda Benedict at .. Insider Racing News

You Can Read Other Articles By Brenda



The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.

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