AdvertisingAge

February 12, 2007

By Rich Tomaselli

How NASCAR Plans to Get Back on the Fast Track

"Ah, who cares about that sponsor and marketing stuff," veteran driver Mark Martin said during Nascar Media Day last week.  He's kidding, of course. This is the same Mark Martin who, after winning a Nascar Craftsman Truck Series race in a car sponsored by Scott's Turf Builder, did "doughnuts" in his car that ripped up the infield lawn and then said on live TV, "That grass is gonna need some Scott's Turf Builder."

Pivotal year
Nascar, of course, cares very, very much. And the infield, bleachers and TV sets are going to need some more fans if Nascar wants to make those sponsors forget 2006. As drivers practice here at Daytona International Speedway for Sunday's Daytona 500 and the start to the 2007 season, the $3 billion business of Nascar is facing a pivotal year.

"It's a key moment in time, no question," said the chief marketing officer for one of Nascar's many sponsors. "As I said last year, [2007] is the time to nip any potential problems in the bud. Right now, there's no concern. In November, if we look back and Nascar had another year like 2006, well, then you start to wonder if you're trending down."

When last we left Nascar, the racing league was crowning 2006 champion Jimmie Johnson after a season in which TV ratings for 31 of the 36 Nextel Cup races were down from the previous year, and several races failed to sell out at the track. Even Nascar's 10-race "playoff," the Chase for the Cup, was down a total of 10% in TV ratings from the previous year.

So every marketing step this year is geared toward finding a balance between pleasing Nascar's longtime fan base and attracting new fans.

Unprecedented changes
The racing league -- emboldened by a group of blue-chip sponsors that in turn receive the backing of the most brand-loyal fans in sports -- is poised to take advantage of an unprecedented series of TV and marketing changes and is eager to prove 2006 was just a pit stop after years of meteoric growth. The changes include a new eight-year, $4.48 billion TV deal in which ESPN/ABC replaces NBC as one of two national broadcast partners (Fox is the other, while cable's TNT will also broadcast six races); the addition of Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya to the circuit, giving Nascar a chance to market to the Hispanic fan base; and the presence of Toyota, which crashes the major American automakers' formerly exclusive domain in Nascar.

"We think we're going to have the bases covered," said Dick Glover, Nascar's VP-broadcasting and media. "The hardcore fan is going to be attracted by what [cable's] Speed Channel is doing with more track-side programming. ESPN has the ability to speak to the hardcore fan and the casual fan. We relaunch Nascar.com [today], and there's an awful lot in there for both the hardcore and casual fan. And then we have HotPass."