Bud Moore just couldn't overcome a 6½-year losing streak.

The pioneering NASCAR team owner had won 63 races, 43 pole positions and two Winston Cup championships in more than 40 years, fielding Fords for drivers such as Bobby Allison, Ricky Rudd and Buddy Baker.

But Moore's team last went to Victory Lane on May 16, 1993, when Geoffrey Bodine won at Sears Point, and the ensuing dry spell cost him two sponsors -- Ford and Hayes Microsystems.

Without those sponsors, Moore floundered for another three seasons, laying off some employees while he searched for new funding. Then, in 2000, he was forced to sell his team and his equipment -- including 10 ready-to-race cars and engines -- at a big loss.

He wouldn't say how much he got from the sale, only that it was "35 or 40 cents on the dollar.''

And there was nothing he or NASCAR could do about it.

"I think we sort of got left a little behind,'' Moore said. "I still think they could've helped us a little bit more. We probably wouldn't have lost so much money.''

Unlike other professional sports leagues, there are no franchises in NASCAR. It's free enterprise at its best -- and worst.

Despite the sport's booming popularity, evidenced by a six-year, $2.8 billion TV contract and sold-out crowds nearly every weekend, NASCAR teams can't compete without sponsors.

In the Winston Cup Series, and other divisions of NASCAR, the teams operate as independent contractors. They agree to follow rules set by the sanctioning body, although anyone paying the $3,400 entry fee can field a car, provided the team has a qualified driver.

"Because of the way a Winston Cup team is set up, they're only worth what their assets are worth,'' said Petty Enterprises CEO and driver Kyle Petty. "Whether you've been in business for 10 years or 100 years, that's all your race team is worth.''

Those assets include cars, parts and engines, as well as any buildings and property. Most teams have between 10 and 15 cars, worth about $75,000 each.

The teams split 25 percent from the first national TV contract, but there's no revenue sharing from the sale of tickets or souvenirs. Without a limit on the number of teams, the value of each of them is lessened.

"It's hard, but that's the way the sports has always been,'' Petty said. "That was the way it was set up. Until the philosophy of NASCAR changes, it's always going to be this way.''

Any change probably won't happen anytime soon.

"We've been kicking around ideas for the past several years,'' NASCAR vice president of communications Jim Hunter said. "We haven't been able to come up with one we think works. If any of the teams have an idea, they're welcome to share it with us.''

In the meantime, the number of full-time teams is about 40, down from high of about 45 a couple of seasons ago. A lack of sponsorship forced multicar owners Andy Petree and Travis Carter to run limited schedules with one of their cars, and Mark Melling ran just two races after running the full schedule for seven straight seasons.

Typically, a Winston Cup team needs about $9 million for a 36-race season from sponsors, with the top teams getting about $12 million to $15 million. Most teams figure on spending around $250,000 per event, although some get by on less.

With the economy still dragging, Petree and Carter haven't put together deals yet for either of their teams in 2003, which could cut two more cars from the field. Carter, who's been involved in the sport for more than 30 years, would like to see NASCAR award franchises.

"But they'll probably never do it,'' he said.

Any change would come too late for Melling. The team owned by his father, Harry, won the 1988 Winston Cup championship with driver Bill Elliott. After Harry Melling died in May 1999, his son kept the team going through last year, until he lost his sponsor, Kodiak smokeless tobacco.

One of the few single-car teams on the circuit, Melling had a hard time keeping up with big bucks organizations such as Roush Racing and Hendrick Motorsports, which field four cars apiece.

By having more than one car competing, Roush and Hendrick are able to spread the costs throughout their teams. Roush reportedly receives about $15 million a year from Viagra, which sponsors Mark Martin, so he can accept less for one of his other cars.

Melling didn't have that option.

"There's so few of the single-car guys left,'' Melling said. "You're just hanging on. You're getting to the point that with the multicar teams, everybody's so well-funded. You can only have about 30 cars getting that kind of performance.''

Before this year's Daytona 500, Melling slashed the overhead in his team so he could compete in the biggest race of the season. From Jan. 1 through the end of February, he got by on only $150,000, and his car finished 22nd with Robert Pressley at the wheel.

"I don't know of anybody else that could've done that,'' Melling said of his penny-pinching.

Petty started driving in 1979, and he's run his family-owned team since 1999. He grew up at the track, watching his father, Richard, compete against Moore's drivers. When asked if owners such as Moore received a fair shake, Petty just shrugged.

"That's a hard question,'' Petty said. "From a personal level, yeah, I'm sad he's not here. I'm sad he didn't get anything out of it, other than what he got while he was doing it. That's sad.

"But there's always sacrifice and pain whenever anything moves forward. It's sad the Celtics don't play at Boston Garden anymore. It's sad we don't race at North Wilkesboro anymore.

"Some of the answers to some of the questions are more emotional than what they should be.''

Hunter puts a different spin on Moore's plight.

"Nothing lasts forever,'' Hunter said. "I don't say that to be mean or cruel, but that's the harsh reality of professional sports.''

The problem doesn't affect only NASCAR's highest-profile division. Jeff Hensley, whose family was a founding member of the Busch Series in 1982, wasn't able to field a team this season for the first time.

The challenges on that circuit are slightly different. Full-time teams compete against each other as well as Winston Cup "interlopers'' -- drivers and teams looking for an edge by racing in a limited number of Busch events.

"I do feel slighted,'' Hensley said. "You put your whole life into something like that. There should be more focus from NASCAR on helping find sponsors for teams.''

Would having franchises have solved his problems?

"It would have four or five years ago, not now -- I don't have a team,'' he said. "That would have been a good deal. We were one of the few teams who still raced for a living. All those Winston Cup drivers and teams do it for a hobby.

"From a franchise standpoint, we could've formed an alliance maybe with other teams, or a Winston Cup team. We basically got driven out of the sport.''