Much of that loss has been blamed on US operations. The company has been sharply criticized for not trimming Chryslers budget. Dodge has been a bigger story in the financial sections than on the sports page. It costs somewhere in the range of 10 to 15 million dollars to be a primary sponsor of a Winston cup team. Those costs in no way reflect the real investment, Advertising campaigns, hospitality costs, promotional events, public relations, all have astronomical costs.
Corporate types demand to see a return on there investment.
Simply put, each time a car runs well, it receives media exposure. The 49 plus seconds it takes to get around Daytona International Speedway with a rolling billboard can be calculated to a financial figure. Those figures are always guarded, but we can assume it is not cheap. Adverting means sales. Sales translate into happy investors.