If sponsors are what makes the world go around in NASCAR then there may be some big changes in store as the sport enters 2011.
Recognize any of the following names?
Ryan Newman
Tony Stewart
Kyle Busch
Jeff Gordon
Mark Martin
Brad Keselowski
Sam Hornish Jr.
Justin Allgaier
What do they have in common?
Lack of adequate sponsorship for the 2011 season.
Newman's number 39 needs a sponsor to partner up with the U.S. Army.
Tony is looking for a replacement for Old Spice on the number 14…
Kyle Busch is the owner of a Camping World Truck Series rig and without a commitment real soon he says he’ll shut the operation completely down.
We’ve all heard of the talks between Hendrick Motorsports and Walmart that fell apart a couple of weeks ago. That leaves Jeff Gordon’s number 24 in dire straits with DuPont backing way off on their sponsorship deal.
It’s said that Mark Martin’s number 5 will be painted up with hendrickcars.com (the owner putting his own business on the line)…
I guess Martin’s situation is better than Brad Keselowski being faced with driving a car without any sponsor this week.
Roger Penske is evidently up against it to the point that he’s told Sam Hornish Jr. and Justin Allgaier they’re going to have to hook up with other owners next year.
2010 Chase drivers, potentially the Truck Series Owner of the Year, a two time and a four time Cup Champion, the dean of current NASCAR drivers and refreshing new names and faces on NASCAR circuits... Apparently no one is immune.
This news is coming out in September and it involves some of the biggest names in the sport. What more bad news will come down as 2010 grinds to completion?
According to Mike Verlander, the director of business development, “As a sport we’ve got to sober up. We may have to learn to get along on $12 million to $15 million instead of $20 million to $25 million (per competitive Sprint Cup teams annually). The sport is not imploding. If Walmart has a couple of bad quarters, aren’t they still the No. 1 retailer in the world? I grew up in Jacksonville. When they say attendance is off at a race and there’s still 100,000 people in the stands, wouldn’t the Jaguars love to have 100,000? It’s all relative."
It looks like this economy is going to not only change the faces in NASCAR, it’s going to change the face of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing itself…
Resource:
http://jacksonville.com/sports/racing/2010-09-21/story/nascars-economic-engine-still-sputtering
Can you say "bail out"? Hey, the Fed is ready and willing to spend tax dollars on anything, and everything! Can you imagine the National Health Care car, or the Homeland Security - Government Motors truck? Instead of the LifeLock 400, it could be the Immigration Reform "Run for the Border 400". But those do-nothing republicans, and tea baggers would be pissed off. Crazy bunch of astro turf! LOL
ReplyDeleteAn email came to me from the American Center for Law and Justice asking me to vote on this car:
ReplyDeletewww.acljcar.com
Seems to me that if the ACLJ were going to get involved in NASCAR and make a Christian statement, too, they would have chosen someone like MORGAN SHEPHERD to sponsor. I'm confused, as always.lol
Ya know CR, when it comes to social engineering and setting up new government bureaucracies (boondoggles), "do-nothing" in my book is a very good thing...
ReplyDeleteMaybe the tea baggers as you put it should sponsor a car and have the US Constitution on the it's sides, top, hood... But NASCAR venues aren't the places where it needs to be read... Maybe they could park the car in front of the US Capital where the tax and spend you into oblivion democrats might actually take a look at it... Enough said?
Geez... Politics AND religion?
ReplyDeleteHmmm, I'd say the way it stands at this time any and all sponsors would be welcomed. Any Mormon drivers? Have a LDS car or the Pope mobile... Maybe an Allah car (that would really go over well...).
Times are tough and it doesn't appear things are going to get better anytime soon...
Thanks Athens!
You really opened it up this time, man. Politics and religion. Two entities sorely lacking on the sides of the cars... LOL
ReplyDeleteThere have been a few politicians smart enough to reach their target demo by going rogue on NASCAR. Andre Bauer was on a car at Darlington in May. Advertising his bid for Governor in the Republican primary. He went on to finish 4th out of four... Andre, not the car.
Dwindy, it's not tea baggers, as I say. That's Racial Madcow. I say, concerned, and vested citicens!
ReplyDeleteHow 'bout the Hare Krishana car? LOL... I can see the pit crew now, decked out in there white robes and beeds, passing out pamplets to the neighboring LDS and Scientology teams!
You'll have to forgive me for injecting politics, as well as the improper use of "there".
ReplyDeleteI'll stick to Dwindy's topic...and the fact that Penske and SHR are up a creek. Penske had to know this was coming with Verizon not being able to have a reasonable paint scheme thanks to Sprint but I would have thought he would have something lined up by now. Verizon loved Lil Gator (as you can tell by his multiple commercials) but can't get any bang for their buck.
ReplyDeleteSammy is another one screwed thanks to Penzoil coming on board - why can't Penske just be the Oil man and have them all! Sucks for sure. And ML is pretty displeased with Bad Brad's Cup performances and were ready to pull out of the sport the end of this year ... they could be gone very soon too.
Whose got all the money?? Apple, Facebook, Google -- amazing no tech cars out there. I'll have to call up old Steve-o and get him hooked.
Anyone surprised that Kyle had his full access TV show on (and was on his best behavior) at the same time he needs sponsors?
ReplyDeleteKLV... I think that the business model for internet companies and retail operations is so different that the techies don't feel they'll get the same bang for their bucks.
ReplyDeleteMost big retail sponsors in NASCAR are weighed more towards hospitality for their big customers, and for their own managers and employees. Advertising to the public is secondary. It's been stated that if a sponsor is giving a team 20 mil to be on a car, they are spending another 20 mil on hospitality, tix, travel, lodging, etc.
ReplyDeleteIt also seems that three years is about as long of a productive run that an average sponsor gets in NASCAR. They've reached their saturation point with the fans by then, and I guess they've wined and dined all the fat cats, too. lol
of course there are exceptions to the three year rule. Beer companies, Home Improvement stores, automotive products, etc.
While companies like Google and Facebook could gain customers among the NASCAR fans in the stands, they must feel it won't be 25 million bucks worth.
ReplyDeleteAfter my experiences with nascar.com and various NASCAR team web sites, I can safely say that they probably don't have anyone savvy enough to sell the tech companies on advertising in the sport. They are probably trying to use the same pitch with the techies that has worked with the retailers. That won't work.
Gene, one of these days I'm going to have to ask you just exactly what it is you do!
ReplyDeleteKLV, I'm wracking my brain trying to figure out a reasonable money stream that would suit and compliment NASCAR but I keep running into the deals NASCAR has struck with their current sponsors... Seems to me fuel companies would be good but then there's the Sunoco deal.
Communications companies would be another good one and yet Sprint stands in the way...
What other complimentary industries are making money as we speak? Insurance? Nationwide has one of the circuits tied up.
Then you go off looking at specialty products that have to do with Male enhancement or something...
I guess like the song says, "Ya never know where you're goin' till ya get there!"
CR...
ReplyDeleteYou sure know how to get my motor running! LOL
Maybe NASCAR needs to hit up the entertainment industry to a higher degree... There could be the Seaworld car or Disney World... NASCAR could team up with the big attraction parks with virtual racing pavilions... Seems like a reasonable deal... Get the big movie studios involved... Heck, Sony owns Columbia they could run with Toyota's teams... There's got to be some untapped industries that could benefit from NASCAR just as much as NASCAR benefits from them...