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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Blood Eagle" data-source="post: 1839227" data-attributes="member: 5132">The 90's were really cool for off road racing. But off road racing being so niche probably doesn't yield a lot of return for potential sponsors and manufacturers. Toyota was in it to prove the worth of their trucks by dumping a lot of money into trick stuff with the ultimate goal of winning races and to be taken seriously as a manufacturer. The main competitor was probably Nissan by comparison, but if you beat the big 3 'murican manufacturers as well, obviously the big 3 have to respond with their respective checkbooks. Nobody wants to get beat by little asian mini trucks with 4 bangers and gutless V6s. Toyota did a really good job of developing the reputation they have today and their sales show that even now. ESPN pulling the plug on the television broadcast after a cameraman was killed was probably a huge deciding factor on a lack of manufacturer support. Why dump all that money into a sport that no longer is televised where Joe Blow can see it in New York City in all of its glory? Pure marketing. If you spend millions on one race that pays literally nothing, you'd hope to make several million in return from vehicle sales or at the very minimum having people all over the US see it on TV. Rather than just the spectators present because you know probably 95% of them are from California, Arizona and Nevada. TV would provide a much more broader, diverse audience. No return or limited return, move on to greener pastures.I highly doubt that the ultimate goal of the McMillin's is to sell houses through their participation in the TT class. Today's manufacturer war is essentially an energy drink company war. Those companies are highly successful and all the big ones have their name on a TT. Energy drinks cater to younger, extreme sports type people, edgy bros who will buy their energy drink of choice because it's cool and the viral videos like Doonies, gymkhana, Recoil etc are cool in their own right and easily get young people's attention and sell product. Compared to other forms of motorsport, it's definitely way more affordable to slap your name on the side of a TT than anything else and still see a pretty high return. Especially if you consider that these drivers are already filthy, stinkin' rich and already dump lots of money into their own program without the help from said energy drink companies. You will not see manufacturers come back unless a TV deal is reached and/or the popularity of the sport explodes overnight. It won't sorry to say.</blockquote>

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