Just when we thought we could take a breather from Barack Obama’s wacky policies, he reached across the Atlantic today to drop another one on us: the White House today announced that GM and Chrysler’s participation in NASCAR racing must end at the end of the 2009 season.

Naturally, NASCAR fans are outraged and NASCAR itself is reeling from reduced team spending.

Obama theorizes that a complete withdrawal from America’s premier racing series is expected to save more than $250 million between GM and Chrysler. Is Obama in the auto business now?

“Automakers used to operate on the principle of ‘win on Sunday, sell on Monday,’ but the Auto Task Force’s research just doesn’t validate that as true,” said the statement from President Obama. . . .

. . . “In order to receive this money, corporations must demonstrate they will spend it wisely. Racing has been said to improve on-road technology, but frankly, NASCAR almost flaunts its standing among the lowest-tech forms of motorsport. NASCAR is not proven to drive advancements that transfer from the racetrack to the road, and this nation’s way forward does not hinge on decades-old technology. We need new, and we need innovation.”