While the on-track part of last night's Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race is being largely panned in the media, multiple new off-track activation elements seem to have been a hit. Monster debuted its Bellator MMA partnership with four fights in an octagon just outside Charlotte Motor Speedway, where upwards of 1,000 onlookers gathered at about 3:30pm ET. Jockey Victor Espinoza and PBR rider J.B. Mauney, both Monster endorsers, were among the onlookers, along with several Bellator and Monster execs. Disney/Pixar’s “Cars 3” film also had a large display, and the line to get in was dozens deep and filled with kids throughout yesterday.
Meanwhile, Monster had a significant presence for pre-race driver intros. Monster stuntmen did wheelies and burnouts on the track on Harley-Davidson motorcycles as drivers and their pit crews walked by Monster Energy Girls on an elongated stage above them. Elsewhere, race winner Kyle Busch also became the cover athlete for NASCAR licensee 704Games’ forthcoming “NASCAR Heat 2” game by finishing higher in the second stage of the race than
Martin Truex Jr., the other Toyota driver who was in the running.
