I just want to RACE!

To my fellow race car drivers everywhere....

I'm almost sure that I'm not the only racer going through this or something like it.  I'm refering to this whirlwind of an economic situation that I for one am feeling its brunt at the race track.  I am not fortunate enough to have a huge, or even small for that matter, sponsor to help pay the racing bills.  Oh sure I've got a couple of buddies, one that owns a local garage, the other a small landscaping service, that kick in just enough money to cover the cost of their graphics on the car....so that leaves me to maintain my 85 Monte in the local street stock division.  And sad to say, it seems to be coming to an end.  The 09 season started with me losing my job of 15 years and being on unemployment for the first time in my life.  So being single and having only one child that was 25 and leading a life of her own, I cash in some of my 401K and go racing for the 09 season comfortable in the fact that my employmeny life would turn around.  It hasn't.  Still unemployed as of now, I may have enough to race next weekend...if my unemployment check can cover two tires, fuel, entry fees, and getting me and my two man crew to the track.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not whinning...I know that I'm not the only person suffering in this present economic situation.  Even the two sponsors I did have did not have the funds to sign on this year, so I'm hunting sponsors again.  Nothing is more depressing than walking into talk to a potential sponsor when you're about 90% sure what they are going to say.  This whole situation has affected us all in some way or another.  Wouldn't it be nice, if some of the local business people, with the medium to larger size business' could maybe spend some of those precious advertising dollars at local tracks like mine?  For instance...right now I just saw a commercial on tv for Toranados...you know the crispy rolled burrito looking things that are advertised on Ryan Newmans Cup car from time to time.  That's a big company that has their product in every convienence store you go into.  That company (I'm just using it for instance) has local distributing offices making sure their product is spread out through the area.  What if they decided..supposing that they evidentlly like to support racing...what if they sent each one of those distributing offices a sum of money to send to the local short track as part of a local sponsorship contingency package...or better yet send the money for the guys like me stuck in this lousy downturn of available funds to help out...at the tracks discretion of course.  I'm not saying that anyone or two companies should foot my racing bill...I'm just saying that in this bad economic tidal wave it would be nice to get a small hand every now and then to calm the seas a bit.  Life and racing will go on with or without me....but I would really like to there.  I've come to far to take the white flag on my racing career now! Sincerely, and good luck to ALL!
-------lowbuckracer