Travel by track: ISC, Orbitz join up to target race fans

International Speedway Corp., owner of 12 racetracks that host NASCAR Nextel Cup events, is teaming with Orbitz Worldwide in an attempt to make travel planning easier for race fans.

Travel plus tickets at racing.orbitz.com.

The creation of racing.orbitz.com will bring together Orbitz’s booking prowess and technology and ISC’s ticket-sales resource, racetickets.com, to form a one-stop shop for race fans. The site can be accessed directly or through links that will be established on ISC’s other Web sites, such as racingone.com or the tracks’ official sites.

In addition, Orbitz Worldwide’s corporate travel brand, Travelport for Business, will serve as ISC’s online travel agency. The corporate agreement is separate from the consumer agreement, even though they will run concurrently.

The consumer deal includes a promotional spend component for Orbitz that can be used at ISC tracks or on its radio network, MRN. That spend will be determined year to year. In total, including Orbitz’s online advertising spend on ISC’s Web sites, the deal reaches seven figures a year, industry insiders say.

ISC is expected to announce its new multiyear partnership with Orbitz this week. Orbitz title-sponsored the Busch Series race at Daytona International Speedway in February as part of a separate one-year deal, and the two parties have been working on an extension, officials said.

“We’re all about making planning faster and easier,” Orbitz spokesman Jim Cohn said. “Racing fans are passionate about their sport and they love to travel. It’s a great fit.”