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MOTORSPORT:
NASCAR
for fans, has been delayed.
So has construction of new ticket
and merchandise sales buildings.
“We’re a small state with a small
population and we need all the help
we can get,” Dover Motorsports
president Denis McGlynn said.
“With the economy the way it is
and the finance industry so slow
to lend money, we’ve got to wait a
little while. Maybe another year or
two, but we’re going to do it.”
HITTING THE NUMBERS
Barry Wilner says the surge in popularity and revenues experienced by Nascar earlier
in the decade has subsided and the tough economy has inflicted some damage. But
the stock car series remains one of America’s top sports.
IT HAS BEEN an awful year for the
US auto industry, with bankruptcy
filings, rising unemployment, weak
sales and a distrust of General
Motors, Ford and Chrysler among
the American public.
Some of that negativity has
filtered over to Nascar, yet the
series still keeps company with
baseball, college and pro basketball
and college football in the US
sporting landscape. All chasing the
NFL of course.
But there have been some
setbacks for Nascar and heading
into 2010, they are issues the sport
is attempting to address.
“We’re always looking at ways
to lower costs for the teams related
to travel and everything that that
means,” Nascar chairman Brian
France said, noting that more twoday
weekends might be scheduled
to save on expenses.
“The schedule has already been
announced. The testing policy is
out. We saw some (changes), but it
won’t be dramatic.
“We have people in every
division that understand everything
from the team owners’ direct cost
to the per-event cost and everything
in between. We have quite a
command of that.’’
On the sponsorship side,
Nascar has had to adjust to
sponsor defections more often
in the last two years than anyone
would have projected. For 2010,
Richard Childress Racing has lost
Jack Daniels, the famed bourbon
distillery and a loyal participant
in the sport for years. “While it is
difficult for us to end our formal
relationship with RCR, the current
economic environment has
compelled us to re-evaluate our
spending, and we’ve concluded
that other areas in the marketing
mix require additional investment,”
said Tim Rutledge, vice president
and brand director for Jack Daniels.
Investments on hold
Petty, the most successful driver
in stock car history and Nascar’s
resident icon, searched long and
hard for a partner who could keep
his company afloat.
RPM had not won since 1999,
but when it merged with Gillett-
Evernham Motorsports to begin
2009, Petty’s group got star driver
Kasey Kahne into one of its cars.
Kahne won at Sonoma in the
spring, then qualified for the Chase
for the Sprint Cup, a first for any
Petty-associated driver.
But Chrysler’s deep financial
problems plagued all of the RPM
teams, with the Dodge brand
offering less and less factory support
throughout the season. Finally, in
October, Petty agreed a merger with
the Yates team for 2010.
Dodge though remains
committed to the sport.
Ralph Gilles, the new head
of Dodge’s car brand, says the
manufacturer will remain in
Nascar because development and
marketing of Dodge vehicles “still
works’’ through its participation
in Nascar.”
Then there were the tracks.
Even Nascar’s most popular
track, Bristol Motor Speedway
in Tennessee, had issues in the
sponsorship area this year.
“We had a lot of corporate
sponsors actually cut their
allocation because of the economy,
so a lot of fans who had been
wanting to come to our race
for years but hadn’t been able
to get tickets actually had that
opportunity,” said BMS spokesman
Kevin Triplett.
“We’ve had to spend more in
advertising than we ever have. We
haven’t advertised Cup tickets in 13
years. But we had to do that.”
Darlington Raceway, which
has a Cup race on Mother’s Day
weekend in May, has already cut
ticket prices on more than half
of its seats for the Southern 500.
Darlington executives surveyed
customers and found that many
planned to stay away because ticket
costs were too high.
“We’ve faced hardships before,”
Darlington president Chris
Browning said. “We always seem
to be able to adjust. Hopefully,
the whole country will adjust and
move on.”
Some racetracks have put
upgrades, whether for fan comfort
or racing considerations, or both,
on hold.
At Dover Downs, where the two
Nascar weekends each year are the
only significant sporting events
held in Delaware, work on a new
garage, including rooftop viewing
On-site gambling
One intriguing way for the tracks
to enhance revenue streams could
be through on-site gambling.
Dover is considering it, with live
gaming tables to go with slot
machines that already exist.
Nascar has yet to pass judgment
on such a proposal, and McGlynn
notes that Las Vegas is a regular
stop on the circuit.
Plus, Delaware has legalised
sports betting on a limited basis.
“I think the sports betting could
have had the ability to draw new
people into Nascar just to give
them some other reason to watch,”
McGlynn said.
Not as many eyeballs are
watching on TV, although no
trends are certain because some
races just before and early in the
Chase saw increases in viewership.
Nascar’s contracts with Fox,
ESPN/ABC, Turner and SPEED
have four more years to run and
net $4.48 billion for the eight-year
deals. That makes one area where
stock car racing is in excellent
shape, although make-goods to the
broadcasters are possible should
ratings slip excessively - something
NBC has done in the past for lowrated
Olympics.
As for the folks in the stands,
well, when you are still averaging
six-figure crowds, how negative
a slant can anyone place on your
sport Yes, some tracks have
struggled to fill up, particularly
those outside racing hotbeds. But
others venues remain touch tickets.
“This year, obviously, everyone
has seen changes in attendance,
but we’re still averaging about
110,000 fans per event,” said
Nascar spokesman Ramsey Poston.
“Two or three years ago, the
average was closer to 120,000.
“But given where we are in
the country with the economy,
we think this shows how strong
Nascar is. To keep hitting those
numbers is very reassuring.”
58 SportBusiness International • No. 152 • 12.09