Bang for Buck Not an Issue to Congresswoman Seeking to Defund Army Sponsorship in NASCAR – FoxNews – February 17, 2011
“…Taxpayer-funded NASCAR race cars are an absurdity at a time when the Republican-Tea Party is cutting federal support for homeless veterans, law enforcement officers and firefighters. I know NASCAR fans are passionate and patriotic. This amendment gets the government out of NASCAR and gives them the opportunity to encourage the private sector to demonstrate its patriotism by donating a military sponsorship,’ McCollum said in a release…”
“…Drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr. and David Stremme and Jeff Gordon have all had sponsorship from the National Guard and Air National Guard. This season, dragster Tony Schumacher will Army sponsorship for his 11th year…”
House Rejects Anti-NASCAR Funding Proposal – FoxNews – Feb 18, 2011
“The House black flagged on Friday a controversial plan to end the Pentagon’s sponsorship of a NASCAR team that was introduced by a Democrat seeking to give Republicans another target for slashing wasteful spending…”
With the military facing some tough budget cuts in the coming years – including recently announced cutbacks in funding for base housing construction – I would not be surprised to see the Army’s sponsorships of racing teams facing even increased scrutiny in the future.
It is probably only a matter of time before such sponsorships dry up.