I do not think a stand alone Grand-Am event would have been profitable enough venture to justify the expense of going there....

So is this to say, GARRA is in a state where you can run a race and return a 'profit', but there has to be a specific  amount of profit?  (Meaning no loss).

I would think that even with running an entire weekend in Mexico and after all the bills are paid, if the event was break even or just a tad profitable-the race in Mexico is a huge win for the Series....with the large fan base and all.  So I would think that the first shot of how the economy is effecting GARRA (right now) is the cancellation of the race....Not predicting any doom and gloom here, but just an opinion from a fan,  that the cancellation of the 2009 race in Mexico is a sign that GARRA is seeing an impact....

Carry on....

There is no need to wait to see the impact that the economy will have on Grand Am.  The impact is already here, it has been creeping up on every team for a while now.  It is simple.  There used to be some teams that campaigned 3 cars or more at every race and that is not the case anymore.  The same goes for teams that are used to 2 car efforts.  It is simply getting tougher to afford a full out multi-car effort.  This is not because of the lack of drivers but rather the lack of money these drivers have to spend on racing.  Plus, I can guarantee you that even the bigger teams (KROHN, SunTrust, etc...) are also feeling it.  No need to wait for the results, they are here and its going to get worst.

Alberto:
But until the season starts,these teams can change their mind....find more funding....vaporize...etc...so to Ray's point (I think) there have been no signs of this and is pure doom and gloom...Where as, the Mexico race being cancelled is a fact....and one could connect the dots (if said head was not in the sand)  to come to the conclusion the economic environment we are now in, is the reason....NO?  Pass the salt then.....

Either way....the Rolex24 starts the 2009 season....and after that-who knows what the car counts will be...I for one think they will show the same signs as all other racing series....they will be down....just not as much as others....

Are you obsessed with me Ken? 

UM....No...I didnt think this was your private forum (although you do give the impression at  times as if what you say is the only word)..

I was interacting to this topic, which to me, is very interesting (as it is with me on several other forums-both relating to sportscars and business in general)....don't flatter yourself....(BTW-Only asked one question not two)

Now back to the topic-interesting press release on the main page....another sign of the economic times we are in.....

Time to dust off my pom poms.  Yes, the economy sucks!  It will have an impact on everything happening on the face of the earth.  We get that, but for the love of all that's holy and good, can we maybe talk about some of the positives that are ALSO happening?  Not everything is in the crapper right now, so why not at least bring that up too?

Let me start by reminding people of who we are lucky enough to have the opportunity to watch compete in GA now.  How about Roger 'freakin' Penske.  Hmmm, that's a pretty big addition to the series.  Now Grand Am has two of the most dominant US open wheel teams in North America getting ready to fight it out on sports car tracks in both the US & Canada.    Crawford is back with Childress Howard Motorsports which means we get Andy Wallace back in GA.   Level 5 has moved up from GT to DP, possibly with a FERRARI power down the road, Orbit is back with the possibility of Kyle Petty being a full season entrant and Forsythe has stepped in for Cheevers team to campaign the Coyote. 

For as bad as things are, it's not so bad here now is it?

ray cer x: From this chair, I think the hit's already mostly occurred -- the sub-20-car DP fields at the later events, specifically (with proportional downsizing in all other classes). If I had to guess, I'd say Daytona '09 will be down ~10% from '08, and average field sizes through the '09 season will be ~19 DP, and ~21 GT. If the economy *really* crashes in '09, tho', it may not matter....

Has the economy affected Grand-Am? Der.....YES, OF COURSE IT HAS! Will the car count be down this year? Most likely, just like in every single other racing series around the world. Just look at the current entry list for the Daytona 24...Notice anything? I do. Banner only has one car entered. Most likely because of FUNDS!

It's really not all that hard to figure out.

http://community.grand-am.com/forums/thread/784c5c76-c9fb-4e37-a10a-28da4afa119d/1

Southard is done. Looks like the economy starved another team to death.

Please,

Let's allow testing and the races to actually HAPPEN before we go gloom and doom on the ecconomy affecting Grand-Am.
There are those who will always find a way to go racing. Those who drop to the wayside are ususally those who were on a shoestring in the first place.

The prestege of the first event will intice many to pour more resources into that effort to make the field. That commitment may
not allow the