Menu
Leagues and Governing Bodies

Many NASCAR Metrics Up With Dale Jr. Success, But Ratings Still In A Slump

Many indicators for NASCAR this season to date reflect "an accompanying bounce in buzz" following Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s strong start, "except the most important indicator" -- TV ratings, according to Nate Ryan of USA TODAY. Taking into account that the Daytona 500 suffered a rain delay of more than six hours, ratings "have been down for the first three races," prompting talk about whether Earnhardt's success "can spur nationwide interest." NASCAR CMO Steve Phelps said, "He has a massive following, and his fan base is energized. But trying to measure an impact is difficult, and we look at a number of things. Ratings are one indicator, but we're not overly concerned about that." Phelps said that the metrics "most important to NASCAR sponsors are TV ratings and attendance." He added that while there have been no sellouts in any of the first three Sprint Cup races, NASCAR has been "encouraged by this season's crowds, particularly an estimated 25,000 for qualifying at Vegas." Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage: "Whenever Junior does well, we all do well. At the same time, no one person determines the sport's success or failure." Ryan reports Earnhardt's early success "seems to be driving growth in digital and social channels." NASCAR.com web traffic "mushroomed in February for unique visitors (up 55%), page views (68%) and videos (122%) from last year." Fanatics.com also reported that Earnhardt merchandise "is up nearly 1,000% over the first races of 2013, and Lionel Racing is predicting Earnhardt's die-cast will become the best seller of the company's four years in NASCAR, doubling the sales of the previous mark" (USA TODAY, 3/14).

TOY STORY: In Tennessee, Kevin Castle writes Lionel Racing's future "really started looking up" after this year's Daytona 500. Lionel "began taking orders for a raced, die-cast version of the National Guard number 88 just hours after" Earnhardt won. Lionel Senior VP & GM Howard Hitchcock said, "We began selling 100 cars an hour." He said that the current rate of Earnhardt’s sales of that particular car "have already beaten sales of the two previous Daytona 500 winners, Jimmie Johnson and Trevor Bayne, by a 2-1 margin in just three weeks." The win "could possibly signal a new uptick in die-cast sales, which Hitchcock admitted took a hit with the economic downturn." He also admits that as Earnhardt goes, "so goes the industry." Hitchcock: "As his momentum grows, it sort of carries the entire sport. It carries ticket sales. It carries merchandise sales. It brings more people to the track, sells more hotel rooms and meals at restaurants and it sells us more cars" (BRISTOL HERALD COURIER, 3/14).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2014/03/14/Leagues-and-Governing-Bodies/NASCAR.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2014/03/14/Leagues-and-Governing-Bodies/NASCAR.aspx

CLOSE