Chevy drivers show concern for GM

On Friday General Motors stock hit a 75-year low and its sales from February in the US were down 53 per cent on the previous year. The company is at risk of going bankrupt and is seeking further help from the American government in order to remain financially viable.

Four-time Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon, who has always driven for the bow tie brand and also owns a Chevrolet dealership, voiced his concern about its future and made a call for Americans to buy American car brands.

"I'm a Chevy dealer," said Gordon. "They've got some of the best cars out there that they're offering up to the customers that I've ever seen in the years that I've been in this sport. I think that obviously they're concerned and obviously they should be and so should America in general.

"The economy is being affected in a big way and they play a vital role in the economy. Of course we all want to see them get things turned around and it's not going to happen overnight. We're just going to support them just like they support us until I hear otherwise and I haven't heard otherwise.

"So we're just going to stay on track and keep trying to put Chevy in Victory Lane every weekend. We're going to keep pushing our guys, Jeff Gordon's Chevrolet and keep selling Chevrolets and keep talking to the American public about continuing to support American brands and American manufacturers - especially Chevrolet."

Stewart Haas Racing owner Tony Stewart, who returned to race for Chevy after driving for Toyota last year, also expressed his concern about the possibility of a manufacturer pulling out of NASCAR if its financial situation worsens during the year.

"The fallout if we lose any of these manufacturers is going to be tremendous and I think it's at a stage now to where we can't rely on our government to do it all for us," Stewart said.

"We have to take an active role ourselves and I'm not saying as drivers or as NASCAR, but our whole country together. We've got to get off our wallets and we've got to go back to being Americans again and living our lives they way we're used to.

"And I know that's easier said than done, but I think every time you turn on the news, you're petrified."

Veteran Jeff Burton believes in General Motors' commitment to NASCAR through Chevrolet but he warned that if the economy doesn't get any better, there will be plenty more to be concerned about than just the future of the manufacturer in the sport.

"Chevrolet has shown for years that they're very committed to racing and that commitment is not going to go away," Burton said.

"But if our economy doesn't get jump started, if credit doesn't get freed up, if people don't feel secure about their jobs then not only is Chevrolet going to have a problem there's a lot of manufacturers of a lot of different products that are going to have major problems. So I have much more concern about that."