10/16/2008

Globe and Mail

by: Brian Milner and Paul Waldie

(excerpt)

The spreading financial gloom that envelops Wall Street has hit that most Main Street of American Sports: NASCAR.

The popular race circuit has expanded beyond its...roots in the Deep South to capture fat profits and a huge TV audience through North America. But now it has turned into another high-profile victim of the global financial crisis and a rapidly slowing economy...

"It's a tough situation," said Sal Galatioto, a New York investment banker who specializes in sports financing and franchise valuations. "Everyone is looking at this now and thinking if it continues for a while, it's an impact thing. It's too early to really say what kind of effect it's going to have. Obviously, in the short run, it's not good."...