But by far the biggest factor right now for these manufacturers in crafting the future direction of their motorsports programs? It is how to make their racing endeavors relevant to the kind of research and development efforts going on within their respective companies. And this is where the wheels come off the traditional argument that pushes for a continuation of a racing program that's heavily skewed to NASCAR, because it is well known that in terms of the technology used, NASCAR is the direct opposite of "relevant" motorsport, and it's becoming harder and harder for motorsports managers in Detroit to justify focusing their efforts there. And it's even harder still for manufacturer marketing honchos to approve grossly inflated NASCAR budgets when the reality of the situation is that "NASCAR Nation" is contracting at a prodigious rate.

And now, because of all of these factors there's a growing chorus in the corridors of the Detroit manufacturers that revolves around the word "Why?" As in why are we involved? And to go along with that, the next question inevitably becomes: If we are going to be involved, how is NASCAR relevant to the overall direction of our engineering philosophy and our R&D resource allocation?

Today, as manufacturers grapple with developing overall vehicle operating efficiency, advanced powertrain technologies and aerodynamic advancements for their future product programs in an economic environment that's fraught with peril, the concept of racing in a vacuum - which describes NASCAR's "yester-tech" brand of racing to a "T" - couldn't be more irrelevant and out of touch.

Which is why in the next 18-24 months, you're going to see two of the three Detroit manufacturers start to officially (and unofficially) "redistribute" their racing budgets away from NASCAR and into racing programs that have a direct connection to the R&D they're conducting right now. And yes, one of those two manufacturers could very well decide that pulling out of NASCAR altogether is a viable option.

What does this mean for racing?

It means that "relevant" racing programs like the American Le Mans Series - and particularly the next-generation "EVO" rules package slated to begin in 2010 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (which will replace the current LMP1 class as the top classification) - will become a crucial component for global automobile manufacturers' motorsport programs going forward. As a matter of fact, with its rules package refocused around overall efficiency (while embracing alternative fuels and technologies), Le Mans is shaping up to be the preeminent battleground for the world's manufacturers beginning in 2010, with at least seven manufacturers now actively engaged in developing cars to run under the "EVO" classification for the overall win.

And where does all of this leave NASCAR?

It leaves NASCAR in search of a future direction, which is more than a little problematic considering Brian France and his brain trust have demonstrated convincingly and repeatedly that forward thinking isn't one of their strong suits. As a matter of fact, it isn't even one of the arrows in their quiver to put a finer point on it.

As an alarming erosion of their manufacturer support begins to gain momentum in the boardrooms of the auto manufacturers, and their automatic "buy-in" by corporate America begins to wane, and in lieu of actually coming up with a new vision for their series, NASCAR is faced with the very real possibility that it will be a one manufacturer series (guess who?) by 2011.

But then again, as long as somebody continues to foot the bill for the France family circus, being irrelevant and out of touch won't matter to them one bit. It certainly hasn't mattered up to this point at any rate.

And besides, I'm sure that the idea of a "Toyota Cup" suits them just fine.