Mad scramble for sponsorship dollars leaves Cup teams in limbo

If you take the time and do the math, the numbers come up a little short. Looking ahead to 2009, Sprint Cup needs more cars, and a lot more sponsors.

The shortest offseason in sports will include plenty of begging and pleading for Cup teams hoping to find the financing to stay in the game.

There's a job you don't want: spending the next two months making calls to companies and trying to convince the suits to spend millions of dollars to sponsor your race car.

While you're at it, ask Santa Claus for a rotary phone and an 8-track player for Christmas and see who laughs the loudest.

You can't get what no one has. Big-money marketing dollars aren't out there when corporations are trying to survive the economic crisis.

NASCAR teams already have issued pink slips to over 200 employees. More layoffs are coming. It's a clear indication that teams don't expect to find the sponsorship dollars they need to continue at the same level.

So where does that leave NASCAR's teams in its top series? In the same position as everyone else: learning to get by with less.

Let's get specific: At the moment, 29 cars are fully sponsored for 2009. At least 11 other cars have limited or no sponsorship. ESPN.com