Full Throttle

With all the financial doomsday scenarios swirling around NASCAR one has to dig pretty deep to find anything resembling good news. In this case I had to dig, or more appropriately sail, across The Pond to Europe to find something positive.

The World Rally Championship for the last few years have been contested by four factory teams, Citroen, Ford, Subaru and Suzuki.

The two Japanese car makers Subaru and Suzuki have followed the lead of the F1 breathren Honda and have pulled all factory support for the WRC.

Subaru’s loss the biggest blow as the marquee has been in the sport for twenty years under the direction of David Richards’ Prodrive outfit.

Citroen, the reigning champion, and Ford are staying for the 2009 WRC season. Despite the slump in the U.S. auto industry, Ford - the 2006 and ‘07 rally champion - reaffirmed its commitment to the sport.

“It provides a big impetus to our product reputation and sales, especially for the Focus,” Ford said in a statement. “For Ford to demonstrate our products in a successful way, on a global basis via television and the internet, through involvement in the World Rally Championship represents good value.

“The WRC continues to represent the pinnacle of our motorsport ladder of opportunity, incorporating the highly successful Fiesta ST championships.”

Obviously NASCAR and the WRC are very different sports, and the EU has been one of the few bright spots sales-wise for Detroit, but I’m thinking the combination of Ford’s finances in general (few are talkin’ bankruptcy for them) and this news means Ford is in NASCAR for the long haul regardless of the economy.

Go ahead, call me crazy.