According to Fox, which broadcasts a number of NASCAR races, revenue projections for the first and second quarter are roughly 25% worse than a year ago. For the Super Bowl of racing, the season-opening Daytona 500 (which revs up on February 15), Fox reports sales are on the same pace as a year ago. Fox states that it has kept its rate at $550,000 for a 30-second spot, but other non-Fox sources say that the rates are quite a bit lower (from $200,000 to $100,000 lower to be exact).

Moving to the more mundane, every-week races (that was sarcastic NASCAR nation, don't get too upset), Fox is charging $75,000 to $125,000 for a 30-second commercial, down slightly from a year ago. According to the article, many of the sponsors that we see every week are on board: Budweiser, UPS(NYSE:UPS), Craftsman, Sprint(NYSE:S), and the auto manufacturers among others. In fact, some of the companies noted that they are going to spend more - but this news can't temper the news that Fox expects spending for the remainder of its racing schedule to come in lower.

According to Nielsen Media Research, three of the top five NASCAR advertisers last year were auto companies Ford (NYSE:F), Toyota (NYSE:TM), and General Motors (NYSE:GM), and we know that they are all having a tough year. With purse strings tightening throughout corporate America, we could see trimmed advertising budgets hit the major networks (Fox, NBC, and TNT all air NASCAR races and ESPN broadcasts the Nationwide Series).

The moral of the story? There could be some cheap advertising out there for a bargain-hunting company that wants high visibility in an up-and-coming sports demographic ... who will be able to step up and take advantage?