Tiger Woods: The Advertising Star with Stripes Is Back

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Daytona 500: Sponsor Value per Lap Led
Companies sponsor NASCAR drivers primarily because their brand will be seen on TV during races. Of the 10 drivers who had the highest monetary value from TV exposure during the Daytona 500, these five represent the best bargain, based on the number of laps that they led:

5. $1,975,578, Mark Martin ($1,975,578/1 lap)
4. $555,899, Matt Kenseth ($3,891,293/7 laps)
3. $227,272, Jeff Gordon ($3,181,804/14 laps)
2. $137,676, Tony Stewart ($2,065,133/15 laps)
1. $40,543, Kyle Busch ($3,567,796/88 laps)

9. ING Backs Out of Formula One
Last week, Dutch bank and insurance company ING Groep NV (IDG) announced it is pulling out of Formula One at the end of the 2009 season. ING, the second-largest sponsor in the sport, is currently the title sponsor of the Renault (RENA.PA) team, has been heavily involved in trackside advertising, and is the official sponsor of the season-opening Grand Prix in Australia as well as races in Belgium, Hungary, and Turkey. In 2008, it was estimated that ING was paying about $86 million annually into the sport, with around $65 million of that going to Renault. After announcing last month that it would cut operating expenses by €1 billion in 2009 and claiming it needed to eliminate 7,000 jobs to save £949m, the company confirmed that it would not renew its three-year (2007-09) contract with Renault F1.

BMW Sauber also lost one of its main backers last month when Credit Suisse (CS) opted not to renew their deal. But the impact of the global credit crunch claimed its biggest F1 victim at the end of last year, when Japanese car manufacturer Honda (HMC) withdrew its team. Honda spent an estimated £210 million in a 2008 season where they scored just 14 points from 18 races and finished ninth overall. A buyer for the team remains to be found ahead of the season-opening Grand Prix in Australia on Mar. 29. FIA President Max Mosley has urged all teams to set an operating expense target of £44 million a year in 2010.

10. Does That Include a Smog Check?
While Californians grimace over a 1.2% hike of vehicle license fees, a result of the state's massive deficit and 103-day budget impasse that was not resolved until last week, that increase is nothing compared to the close to 2,700% jump in the cost of a Formula One super license. The price of that doc, which allows F1 drivers to race, jumped from $514 to $13,362 per race—meaning that last year's champion, Lewis Hamilton, will have to shell out close to $283,000 to compete in this year's championship. And people say there's no such thing as road rage.

Rick Horrow is a leading expert in the business of sports. As CEO of Horrow Sports Ventures, he has been the architect of 103 deals worth more than $13 billion in sports and other urban infrastructure projects. He is also the sports business analyst for CNN, Fox Sports, and the Fox Business Channel.