Economic downturn affects IndyCar’s title sponsor search
Terry Angstadt, president of the league's commercial division, said one of the two corporations interested in becoming the title sponsor for the IndyCar Series has bowed out for financial reasons. He declined to identify the company.
"It was in the financial sector, and that's absolutely not (going to happen) and we completely understand that," he said. "The other is still a possibility, but it's very much a slow process."
Angstadt had set an October deadline for landing a title sponsor for the 2009 season, but that might have to be extended.
"Am I cautiously optimistic we'll get one? Yes, I am," Angstadt said. "But there are a couple that I thought frankly would be in the boat right now, and they're not." Indy Star
[Editor's Note: Rest assured that the decision to choose Versus as a TV partner has had a very negative impact on sponsorship, both for the series as well as the teams. Let's see if it also chases away the other engine manufacturers who have held talks with the IRL about entering the series in 2011. Prediction – the revenue lost in sponsorship and manufacturer participation will be ten times greater than the money saved by going with Versus over ESPN. Not double. Not triple. Ten times. The loss of just one manufacturer who otherwise would have come in would mean as much as $30 million per year gone from the paddock.]