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Watanabe said F1 was a good way to attract young people.

Earlier this month, Honda Motor Co., Japan’s No. 2 automaker, announced it was pulling out of F1.

Japanese automakers have been battered by the downturn in the U.S. auto market, the world’s biggest. The slowdown is spreading to other regions, including emerging markets, where they had been holding up.

In recent weeks, Subaru and Suzuki have both quit the World Rally Championship, citing concerns about the global economic crisis.

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Open-wheel racing was so big in Michigan that MIS once held oval and road-course races in the same season in the early ’80s, the same time period when a Formula One event was being held on the streets of downtown Detroit.

Now, there will be no chance to see a fence-climbing victory celebration by Penske driver Helio Castroneves, who introduced his famous fence climb on Belle Isle in 2000 and 2001.

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Legendary car owner Roger Penske, who leads the Detroit Grand Prix event (scheduled for Sept. 4-6) as chairman of the Downtown Detroit Partnership, informed the Indy Racing League and American Le Mans Series that the event will not be held in 2009 because of poor economic times.

“Obviously, it’s something we’re disappointed in, but as good businessmen we’ve got to make a call,” Penske told AutoWeek.

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GM said discussions are under way about the Daytona sponsorship but the automaker has not reached an agreement.

“We don’t comment about our business discussions,” GM spokeswoman Jan Thomas said.

The Daytona sponsorship dates to the early 1970s. GM provides fire and safety vehicles, pace cars and other vehicles for use during the race, as well as a July race at the track. GM did not disclose how much it spends on the Daytona deal or NASCAR sponsorships.

(More in ‘GM rethinks Daytona sponsorship’…)

The letter, a copy of which was obtained Saturday by the Associated Press, was addressed to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid; Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell; Sen. Chris Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee; and Sen. Richard Shelby, the senior Republican on the Banking Committee. It was dated Tuesday.

France’s letter warned that if the auto industry fails, 3 million people would lose their jobs in the first year, and another 2.5 million over the following two years.

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Ecclestone says fans don’t care how many cylinders the car has or the capacity of the engine — they just want entertainment on the track.

Honda announced in Tokyo it was pulling outbecause ofthe slowdown in the global economy.