NASCAR

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NASCAR – A MARKETER’S DREAM?

It’s no big surprise to learn that sports fans tend to be a loyal lot. People will follow their teams to the depths of leagues all the while willing them to the top and celebrating any and every victory along the way. It’s also no surprise to learn that one of the main reasons companies get involved in sport’s sponsorship (aside from brand awareness) is in the hope that some of this fierce loyalty will rub off onto their products.

Among marketers NASCAR fans are considered to be the most brand-loyal in the world, no surprise then that big businesses would rather throw their money behind a NASCAR team than any other in motorsport. Not only are they guaranteed bucketloads of exposure but they are appealing to fans who will actively seek out their brand (and pay for it) over rival products.

The only downside seems to be that, in difficult economic times, smaller companies are finding it harder to keep up with the costs – could it become that in order to sponsor NASCAR, tap into this marketers dream, gain maximum exposure for your product and become successful and profitable, you need to be a profitable and successful company? 

I’d love to hear from any NASCAR fans, do you prefer certain products through NASCAR? Would you have bought them anyway? Did you switch from a rival?

How about other motorsport fans out there – have you bought anything based on the fact the company sponsors your team? Would it influence your decision?  As always the comment buttons there, you know what to do!

ANYTHING YOU CAN DO…

Female drivers – it used to be a case of insert joke here but then along came Danica Patrick. The Indycar star has proved she’s got what it takes to cut it at the top level and people in all the right places are paying attention…

Having reportedly turned down offers in F1 Patrick has more recently been linked with a move to NASCAR except, with them cars being all big and heavy and stuff, there’s a worry ‘someone of her physical stature would be mad to make the move‘. Hmm, I could go off here on some big rant that anything boys can do girls can do better but having left the playground a decade ago, and accepting that the type of strength required probably has little to do with sex and lots with training, I thought it’d look at it from a slightly different point of view.

Danica is by no means the first female to cut it in the top ranks, Louise Smith and Sarah Fisher are just a few of the many others who’ve competed in Indycar and NASCAR, but she is the first to win - opening many doors for her and leading to significantly increased coverage, and who likes increased coverage? Yep, the sponsors have flocked to Danica and she now carries considerable clout. In fact the mighty stock car series has described Patrick as ‘a major commercial target.’  So NASCAR would be crazy not to grab her up right? Well it’s not quite that easy, as Danica acknowledges ‘I already drives for a great team so, I need to be in a great team, no matter what I do.’

Would the top ten in NASCAR offer up one of their seats readily? Would she be better starting with a smaller team and building up? Or would this mean sacrificing some all important sponsors? There are those that think Danica would be better off sticking to winning ways with Andretti Green but isn’t seeking fresh challenges and pushing yourself to the next level part of any racer’s DNA? As always let me know your thoughts!

MONTOYA, MISERY AND 0.11MPH

Tennis has it’s hawk-eye, Football has it’s linesmen and motorsport has it’s telemetry, in the case of NASCAR the timing loops, little bits of kit sitting just under the asphalt that monitor speed across the track and pit lane. Care to guess at the odd one out? Well two of them can cost vital victories whilst one will often help secure a points…got it? Yeah I’m guessing it’s a question that wouldn’t give Juan Pablo Montoya much trouble either.

This weekend saw the Columbian on course for a maiden victory at  Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the Allstate 400, then he pitted, 0.11mph faster than he should have and - wham bam controversy ma’am – his win was taken away. Sound harsh? Well it’s not all it seems. NASCAR drivers are given a 5mph grace in the pits, allowed to go between 55 and 60 and so many question why Montoya was pushing it in the first place, he had a decent lead so why the risk?

Whatever the truth the story has certainly generated headlines - but for all the wrong reasons. Fans and broadcatsers alike are looking for clearer justification from NASCAR officials in the future and nasty rumours of American favouritism are beginning to surface – all of which could have been avoided had Montoya not been denied his win; the amount of cuttings may have been the same  but the messages would have been so much more positive.

Then again, if Montoya had broken the limit he couldn’t legitimately claim the win, but if this was the case why wouldn’t officials spring to quickly present data to back up their punishment and therefore stave off the whole controversy? Officials may sometimes only have minutes to make decisions but given the amount of information they have available surely that’s all they need to make crucial decisions with a degree of accuracy? What about the fans? Do stories like this leave you feeling annoyed at the sport, the driver, the officials or all three? Are controversial decisions like this all a part of the world of NASCAR or are they harming the sport’s reputation? Let me know your thoughts!