NASCAR: National Guard Officially Cuts Sponsorship

For quite some time now it has been known that National Guard was on their way out of the NASCAR business. This notion became evident when a review panel decided the National Guard was wasting its money on the sport last year and it became even more evident when Dale Earnhardt Jr. took on Nationwide as his new full-time sponsor. Although we all knew National Guard was leaving; the question was when since they still had one more year on their contract with Hendrick Motorsports for the 2015 season.

According to a recent article by USA Today, it would seem as though that final year didn’t mean much as National Guard will not be in NASCAR is 2015. Earlier this month congress announced that it was stripping the Guard of just north of $13 million from their advertising budget. The amount that congress took away was also the exact amount that was tabbed to cover the sponsorship deals for their final year in Motorsports.

The reason behind pulling the funds were the same reasons that the government and law officials have been harping about for years; recruitment numbers and over-spending. According to published reports the National Guard spent over $40 million in Motorsports in 2014 and did not bear the fruits of a high number of recruits as a result. In 2012 the Guard dumped more than $30 million into NASCAR alone and according to their numbers they received no recruits from their NASCAR advertising.

The departure of the National Guard from NASCAR might be in their best interest but they are sure to be missed by Earnhardt Jr. fans. Over the last few years the two have formed a great bond together and it will surely be strange to see the No. 88 in 2015 with the Guard on board