"Of course, this was a difficult decision for us," said Norbert Reithofer, BMW’s chairman, at a press conference at BMW headquarters in Munich.

"But it's a resolute step in view of our company's strategic realignment," he said. "Premium will increasingly be defined in terms of sustainability and environmental compatibility. This is an area in which we want to remain in the lead. Our Formula One campaign is thus less a key promoter for us."

BMW has had a factory team, BMW Sauber, since 2006.

Last year was an encouraging season for the team. Robert Kubica gave the team its first Formula One win at the Canadian Grand Prix, and BMW Sauber scored 11 podium finishes, ending the season third in the constructors’ title, behind Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes.

Things have been quite the opposite this year. The team had failed to cope with rules changes. After 10 races, the team had only one podium, a second-place finish in a rain-shortened race in Malaysia, and has scored only eight points. Kubica was 15th out 20 drivers in the championship; his teammate, Nick Heidfeld, was 13th.

And for Dick Glover, NASCAR's Los Angeles-based vice president for media and broadcasting, the whole scenario felt like Jimmie Johnson grabbing the checkered flag at Daytona International Speedway.

"NFL is the gold standard for sports in this country and baseball is the national pastime," Glover explained in an interview. "We know we need to do what we can to become more a part of the day-to-day consciousness."

No one is ready to declare "mission accomplished" just yet, but when one of Hollywood's most bankable stars attaches himself to the country's fastest-growing major sport, someone is doing something right -- in addition to doing something no other major sport is doing right now.

It is hardly a coincidence that for the third consecutive summer, stock-car racing is featured on big screens across the country, or that NASCAR drivers keeping popping up everywhere from "American Idol" to the soap opera "Days of Our Lives."

We're excited to be participating in the prestigious Volvo Ocean Race, which is very much like the 'formula one' of yacht racing. This is a fun and unique way to remind viewers all over the world that Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest will be sailing into theatres next summer. Given the film's high seas adventures and nautical themes, this marathon sporting event is a great way to make some waves and generate awareness among the millions of viewers.