ESPN Sprint Cup

If you take the time and do the math, the numbers come up a little short. Looking ahead to 2009, Sprint Cup needs more cars, and a lot more sponsors.

The shortest offseason in sports will include plenty of begging and pleading for Cup teams hoping to find the financing to stay in the game.

There's a job you don't want: spending the next two months making calls to companies and trying to convince the suits to spend millions of dollars to sponsor your race car.

While you're at it, ask Santa Claus for a rotary phone and an 8-track player for Christmas and see who laughs the loudest.

You can't get what no one has. Big-money marketing dollars aren't out there when corporations are trying to survive the economic crisis.

NASCAR teams already have issued pink slips to over 200 employees. More layoffs are coming. It's a clear indication that teams don't expect to find the sponsorship dollars they need to continue at the same level.

So where does that leave NASCAR's teams in its top series? In the same position as everyone else: learning to get by with less.

Let's get specific: At the moment, 29 cars are fully sponsored for 2009. At least 11 other cars have limited or no sponsorship.

Being in limbo has become the norm for many teams. The newly merged team of Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing plans to run four cars next season, but has full sponsorship for only two.

Petty Enterprises has partial sponsorship for only the No. 43 Dodge. Bill Davis Racing doesn't have a sponsor for the No. 22 Toyota, and probably needs a partnership with another organization to stay in business. Yates Racing spent 2008 piecing together short-term deals to keep both the No. 38 and No. 28 Fords running, and appears to have a similar situation with those cars for 2009.

Gillett Evernham Motorsports still needs sponsorship for the No. 10 Dodge that Reed Sorenson will take over in 2009. Stewart-Haas Racing needs more financing for Ryan Newman's Chevy. Michael Waltrip Racing needs additional sponsorship for David Reutimann's Toyota.

Hall of Fame Racing isn't fully funded next year for the No. 96 Toyota, and Wood Brothers Racing isn't sure where it stands with sponsorship money. Furniture Row Racing already announced it will run a partial schedule in 2009.

All this uncertainty about sponsorships has also left some drivers in limbo. Teams don't want to commit to a driver until they have a sponsor in place. AJ Allmendinger, Regan Smith, Scott Riggs, Chad McCumbee, J.J. Yeley and Patrick Carpentier are among the drivers who hope to have a ride when teams sort out their financing.

All the news isn't bad. Five teams are fully funded for 2009: Roush Fenway Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Richard Childress Racing and Red Bull Racing Team. That's 18 cars. The 11 other cars with full sponsorship are part of teams still seeking money for sister cars in their organization.

Some fans wonder whether Cup will have 43-car fields for every event next year. Does it really matter? The truth is 43 cars are more than you need to have a quality event.

The series probably will continue to have 43 cars in most, if not all, of its 2009 races. But we will see fewer teams running the full schedule. The 2008 season saw 43 cars attempt to qualify at every event. That number probably will be in the upper 30s next season.

As Cup teams begin the holiday season, a good portion of the 2009 lineup remains TBD -- to be determined. That TBD also stands for something else -- tough budget decisions. It's time to get by with a little less.

Hylton at Daytona no laughing matter
James Hylton, 74 and counting, plans to attempt to qualify for the Daytona 500 once again. NASCAR officials need to put an end to this ridiculous sideshow before it begins.

Hylton is a good guy and was a competitive racer in his day. That day is long gone.

I'm all for senior citizens doing everything they can to remain active and prove they still are physically capable of most things they did in their youth. Retirees will tell you 70 is the new 50. And 50 is the new 30. That's what I tell my kids, anyway.

Hylton tried this stunt two years ago and gained national attention. He failed to qualify, but it was a fun story that got a lot of laughs.

The problem is 74-year-old men have no business driving a race car at 200 mph while risking the lives of 42 younger competitors in cars only inches apart for 200 intense laps.

It's not a laughing matter.

Terry Blount covers motorsports for ESPN.com. He can be reached at terry@blountspeak.com.