Autoweek - January 23_ 2017 magazine-pdf.org

Top to bottom: Ty Dillon (3) and Erik Jones
(20) are top rookie contenders; Jimmie
Johnson goes for Cup title No. 8; Dale
Earnhardt Jr. missed half of the ’16 season.
a matter of time before they put
the championship record beyond
the grasp of anyone racing today.
After a 23-month search,
Monster Energy will replace Sprint
as NASCAR’s primary sponsor.
R.J. Reynolds and its Winston brand
changed the landscape by spending
hundreds of millions in sponsorship
from 1971 to 2003. Telecom giants
Nextel (2004-2007) and Sprint (2008-
2016) spent more, even as the product
began losing favor. Monster is not
paying what Nextel and Sprint did,
but NASCAR CEO/chairman Brian
France thinks the beverage with the
ghoulish logos will attract and keep
younger fans. A new sponsor also
means a new name for the series,
which will now be the Monster
Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
GETTY IMAGES; LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC (3); NASCAR MEDIA
This year’s 40-car grids will look
different. Multi-time champions
Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon have
retired; in Gordon’s case, again.
On the plus side, fan favorite Dale
Earnhardt Jr. is expected back after
missing half of 2016 with concussionlike
symptoms. Some drivers face
uncertain futures: Veterans Greg
Biffle, David Ragan and Casey
Mears don’t have rides; team owners
Tommy Baldwin and Harry Scott
have shut down; and Jack Roush
has downsized from three teams to
two. Erik Jones and Ty Dillon will
compete for Rookie of the Year,
with Jones the betting favorite.
Clint Bowyer replaces Stewart at
Stewart-Haas, which moves from
Chevrolet to Ford, and Buescher is
on loan from Front Row to JTG
Daugherty. A handful of second- and
third-tier teams still have financial
and personnel issues to resolve.
Nothing suggests that NASCAR
will shake its recent slump anytime
soon. TV ratings and attendance are
disappointing, and its top series is
clearly struggling. France is confident
that Monster Energy will attract
and keep new fans. But others—
including the most optimistic series
watchers—question whether a new
sponsor alone will help the sport
return to its glory days. c
The Sky is
Not Falling
DESPITE SINKING RATINGS
AND ATTENDANCE, NASCAR
IS CONFIDENT IN ITS FUTURE
NASCAR’S TELEVISION RATINGS
took a beating in 2016. Even ignoring
weather-related scheduling issues, 26 of 36
Sprint Cup races on Fox and NBC attracted
fewer viewers than those events in 2015.
And despite removing tens of thousands of
seats to make their grandstands look more
filled, many speedways drew fewer fans
than in recent years. Surprisingly, NASCAR
chairman/CEO Brian France does not seem
terribly concerned.
France said that, unlike other sports, “we
have publicly traded companies and don’t
have publicly financed facilities for the most
part. All the other leagues have that benefit,
so they can discount tickets, give them away,
and that’s not reported. So we’re in a little
bit of a double standard on that.” He added:
“Attendance has been fine. It could always
be better, but we’re pleased where we’re at.”
As for ratings, an important factor in keeping
networks happy ...
“You’re seeing ratings slide all over the
place,” France said in NASCAR’s defense.
“The big events go one way, (and) the digital
audience is consuming things differently.
That’s not a surprise to anyone. The television
audience isn’t going away. It’s sliding to
different places, consuming in different ways
(cellphones, laptops, streaming, etc.). Our
digital consumption is off the charts.”
He seems confident things will be fine.
“The interest level in sports is still the best
of anything available,” said France. “Maybe
it’s changing around, but it’s still the best.
Sports will always have a huge, big audience
... I’m happy with the health of the sport.”
Maybe so, but is France wearing rosecolored
glasses as he whistles past the
graveyard? Only time will tell. -AL PEARCE
JANUARY 23, 2017 AUTOWEEK 17