Nascar Demands Country Over Rock as Daytona Returns to Roots
Nascar is counting on more fender-
banging and the potential resurgence of its most-popular driver
to woo back its fan base as this weekends Daytona 500 starts
the season.
The stock-car racing circuit, which says its the second-
most watched sport in the U.S. after professional football, is
changing its tactics after television ratings slipped and plans
to expand to New York and Seattle sputtered.
Drivers are being encouraged to express their emotions –
positive or otherwise — without fear of being fined. Theyll be
in cars designed for the side-by-side racing that results in
crowd-pleasing scrapes leaving tire marks on cars. Nascar even
has country singer Trisha Yearwood performing the Star-Spangled
Banner at the 50th running of the race after pop stars Mariah
Carey and Fergie were among the performers the past five years.
“We need to get back to our roots, said H.A. “Humpy
Wheeler, president of Speedway Motorsports Inc., which promotes
about a third of Nascars Sprint Cup events. “They need to make
it work and get us back to racing where were putting black
doughnuts on the side of the cars and not making felony offenses
out of it.
Probation
Nascar Chief Executive Officer Brian Frances more lenient
policy toward drivers was tested during practice for the Feb. 17
race. Kurt Busch repeatedly slammed into the car of Tony Stewart
on pit road after Stewart bumped him into a spin on the track. A
similar incident last season resulted in a $100,000 fine to
Busch and the loss of 100 championship points.
This years penalty: Both drivers were put on probation for
six races.
Nascar is taking the right approach by focusing on its
traditionally southern base as a slowing U.S. economy threatens
corporate sponsorships, according to David Carter, founder of
the Sports Business Group, a sports-marketing consulting company
in Los Angeles. Since sponsorship revenue is unlikely to
increase during a slowdown, it makes sense for Nascar to put a
renewed emphasis on its fans, he said.
“In Nascar and throughout sports youve got to protect
your core relationships, Carter said. “Now is not the time to
expect a lot of growth.
The France family company, International Speedway Corp.,
shelved plans to add tracks in the Seattle and New York markets
in the past two years citing local opposition.
Bulldozers
The Daytona 500 has been Nascars marquee event since
founder William France Sr., Brian Frances grandfather, carved a
2.5-mile (4.02-kilometer) oval out of land in the east coast
Florida town of Daytona Beach in 1959. France and his son
William France Jr. ran bulldozers and paving equipment to build
the track.
The television fortunes of Nascar have been tied to the
Daytona 500 since the first live national broadcast of the race
in 1979. Viewers, including non-traditional stock-car fans in
the Northeast confined to their homes because of a snowstorm,
watched as brothers Donnie and Bobby Allison got into a
fistfight with Cale Yarborough after a last-lap accident that
gave the victory to Richard Petty.
That type of behavior has been discouraged more recently as
Nascar has penalized drivers for infractions ranging from
swearing on television to aggressive driving. Wheeler said
thats also why the sports growth has slowed.
Ratings
Television ratings were down for 29 of 37 races last season
after falling in 26 of 36 races in 2006, according to Neilsen
Media Research.
This years race may also get a boost as Dale Earnhardt
Jr., voted Nascars most-popular driver, starts his first season
with Hendrick Motorsports. News Corp.s Fox network said
interest in Earnhardts debut with the seven-time championship
winning team helped boost ratings 6 percent for last weekends
Budweiser Shootout Exhibition race.
Ratings rose during the final 10 minutes of the race, which
was won by the 33-year-old driver who last season left the team
started by his late father. France cited interest in Earnhardts
switch as a reason to expect more viewers this year.
Nascars new car is also gaining fans. The taller, boxier
vehicle has brought back the so-called slingshot pass, a popular
last-lap maneuver until more aerodynamic cars in the 1980s made
it rare. To execute it, a driver takes advantage of a break in
the airflow created by the lead car, allowing him to gain speed
and slingshot past.
People familiar to Nascar fans will also be carrying out
traditional duties this weekend. Junior Johnson, the 1960
Daytona 500 winner who honed his skills running loads of
moonshine in the hills of North Carolina, will drive the pace
car. Johnson, 76, has lent his name to a legal whiskey called
Junior Johnsons Midnight Moon, which is a sponsor of the car
driven by Jeremy Mayfield.
“My history in the moonshine business is no secret,
Johnson said. “We can do things legally that we couldnt do in
the old days. I own part of a company that makes moonshine, and
our Midnight Moon is sponsoring a car in the 500. I never would
have believed this was possible.
