Does Ford get it's bang for the buck out of NASCAR ?

Motorcraft Team Taurus

Ford Motor Company spends about $100 million a year on it's sponsorship in NASCAR. At one point in time that would have made sense, but does it now? I remember when I was a kid, I loved watching NASCAR racing, the roar of the cars as they went around the high banked ovals, the ocassional crash, always keeping an eye on the Fords to see if they were ahead of the Chevys, Dodges and others. Back then "Stock Car" racing was just that, well not really stock, but the cars racing held a close relationship with the cars you could buy at your local dealership.

Have you ever heard the old saying "race on Sunday, sell on Monday"? that refers to the fact that many people who became loyal fans of the racers also became fans of what they drove.
The cars in the early days of NASCAR were street cars modifed for racing. Today, they bear no kinship with the "Street" version. Take a look at these pictures.

With the financial situation in Dearborn, isn't it time that Ford dropped their wasteful spending on NASCAR? I'm not saying pull out of racing all together, just NASCAE, let Viagra and M&M's spend their money, they get far more out of it. When was the last time you heard someone say "I wasnt a Taurus like the one that won on Sunday!"

Ford spends big money on SCCA, Grand Am , World Rally Championship and Australian Super Car series racing and that makes sense. They also spend money on NHRA and other forms of racing. Fine, with those forms of racing you can recognize the racers as Ford.