A potential buyer into NASCAR will need the capital to be able to take on multiple projects at onceGETTY IMAGES
Following reports that the France family is exploring a possible sale of NASCAR, the racing community and its ancillaries "turned to speculation, trying to decipher how it all might play out and what it means to the sport of stock-car racing," according to a front-page piece by Park & Willis of the Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL. NASCAR President Brent Dewar yesterday "addressed the issue with employees, in writing and in general terms." Dewar sent a memo to NASCAR employees and told them the France family “remains dedicated to the long term growth of our sport.” One of NASCAR’s "biggest attributes to a potential buyer is its current network television contract with NBC and Fox," which runs through '24 and will eventually pay a reported total of $8.2B to NASCAR. That TV deal, put together in '12-13, was an "increase from previous TV deals even though it came at a time when NASCAR’s TV ratings and at-track attendance numbers were on a downward trend." That trend has "continued in the years since." Two years ago, Liberty Media "put together a package" totaling a reported $8B to buy F1. Liberty’s purchase means much of the "early speculation has focused on other worldwide media giants" (Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL, 5/9).
ART OF THE DEAL: USA TODAY's Mike Hembree notes the "relentless stream of 'no comments' that followed Monday’s initial report" of a potential sale "more or less confirms that something serious is happening here and that it could lead to one of the biggest developments in auto racing history." It seems "reasonable to expect that even a deflated NASCAR would attract considerable interest from potential buyers." The NASCAR idea continues to "make money for a lot of people, if not in the hand-over-fist form once enjoyed." TV and other outlets in a "constantly changing media landscape demand content, and NASCAR, with numerous series and steady diets of racing, qualifying and practicing, has plenty" (USA TODAY, 5/9). YAHOO SPORTS' Nick Bromberg noted there is "no precedent for a sale of something like NASCAR." No other sports leagues are "privately owned or have been run by a family dictatorship." Any potential buyer into NASCAR has to have the "capital and the wherewithal to take on multiple projects at once" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 5/8). FS1's Jeff Hammond said, "The France family has built NASCAR to one of the most powerful associations in the world so it's a great opportunity for them for all their hard work to have a chance to evaluate the company's worth" ("NASCAR Race Hub," FS1, 5/8). FS1's Regan Smith said, "I don't know if anyone envisioned a day where the Frances weren't involved in NASCAR" ("NASCAR Race Hub," FS1, 5/8).
IS IT WORTH IT? In Richmond, Paul Woody writes NASCAR has "become a bit of a headache." NASCAR is only where the "money is as long as television revenues remain high." Unless something changes, that "isn’t likely to be the case when the contracts expire." Woody: "So why should the France family go through the growing pains of reinventing a sport? Why not let someone else deal with changing the format, changing the schedule, shortening the season, running weeknight races." Why go through "all the change when you own 13 tracks?" The model of the One Daytona development at Daytona Int'l Speedway "might not work at every ISC track, but it will work at some." Most of its tracks "already are, or have room to become, multipurpose, multiuse facilities" (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 5/9).
