In Formula 1. From the BBC:

If there is not enough external sponsorship out there to maintain the whole grid, where will the money come from to keep the sport’s wheels turning?

Currently, teams get their funding from sponsors and from TV companies, who do their deals with F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, who then distributes about half the funds to the teams. But TV companies, with one or two exceptions, are also feeling the pinch.

Meanwhile, one alarming statistic is regularly trotted out. F1’s entire global TV rights income is about the same as that of the Turkish football Premier League – in the region of $490m.

Most are astonished to hear that, but it seems as if it’s accurate, as far as these figures can be accurately assessed. Which raises questions about whether the sport is being marketed and promoted as effectively as it might be.

And, yeah, in NASCAR too. From the UPoR:

International Speedway Corp., which owns Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, reported Thursday that its revenue slipped about 1.3 percent in the fourth quarter compared with the year before.

Ticket revenue fell about 4.7 percent compared with the same quarter last year. Still, the company said that beat a 10 percent decline in 2011.

Charlotte-based Speedway Motorsports Inc., which owns tracks including Charlotte Motor Speedway, reported in its most recent quarter that ticket revenue fell from $51.6 million in the prior year to $36.2?million.

Shifts in race schedules accounted for some of the drop, SMI said, but acknowledged lower attendance was responsible for some of the drop.