2009 could bring short fields as sponsorship woes hit NASCAR hard

It used to be that making the field in a Cup race was very difficult.Every week, a half dozen teams would have to go home because of the large number of teams trying out for races on a regular basis.But that was during better economic times. Today’s economy has left the garage decimated as far as sponsors go. Longtime sponsors like Kodak and Texaco/Havoline are giving up on the sport, and teams