For NASCAR, "money doesn't just make the world go
'round, it fuels every car circling race tracks," according
to Shannon Rose of the K.C. STAR. Corporate America "has
driven Bill France's NASCAR from the beaches of Daytona to
Wall Street and made it a billion-dollar business." Rose
reports that a "major" NASCAR sponsorship costs about $6M.
Rose: "[M]ost companies don't get involved in NASCAR because
they are going to win 10 races a year. They know the return
on their investment comes from advertising dollars. There
is no better way to reach large amounts of consumers than by
television. ... [I]f a company wants to invest in a one-shot
deal, the best bang for its buck is a college football bowl
game. But the best value for a series is auto racing."
Rose adds that more than 70% of NASCAR fans "almost always
choose a sponsor's product over a non-sponsor's." And,
since one-third of NASCAR fans earn above $50,000 a year,
"that can be a pretty important fact to a company" (Shannon
Rose, K.C. STAR, 4/24).
ON MORE SAT. NITE? Under the header "NASCAR Should Give
Saturday Night Racing A Spin," Bill Whitehead of the
Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW wrote that Monday make-up races
are becoming "too common of an occurrence. ... The solution
is easy enough -- install lights at the tracks that are
small enough to accommodate night racing." Whitehead added
that racing fans "love night racing" (TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 4/23).
