NASCAR President Steve Phelps said that the sanctioning is "set to implement guidelines in the rulebook on sports betting" in '19 after Dover Int'l Speedway "opened its on-site betting kiosk this weekend and became the only track that allowed sports gambling on its property," according to Dan Gelston of the AP. NASCAR does "not prohibit its drivers or team members from betting on the race." Phelps said that "some of the language" in the '19 rulebook "could include rules prohibiting drivers and team members from betting on NASCAR." Phelps also said gambling-related entities will "definitely ... gravitate to NASCAR as most sponsors do because of the return on the investment they can get because of the visibility that it has" (AP, 10/7). In DC, Liz Clarke notes two hours before the start of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Gander Outdoors 400 at Dover, "would-be bettors were stacked up double-file and more than 20 deep, waiting to place their bets." Fans could place bets such as "which driver would win the first two stages of the race, at Lap 120 and Lap 240," or even "bet on head-to-head matchups." They also could bet on "how many caution flags would fly" or "how many lead changes would there be." Track promoters all "hope that legal wagering gives their declining fan base new reason to stick with the sport." Ideally, it also "will attract new fans." From a marketing standpoint, Las Vegas Motor Speedway President Chris Powell "likened legal wagering as 'manna from heaven.'" Powell: "You could have millennials in the grandstands high-fiving because one of them placed a wager on the first stage of a race. And this is the very demographic we’re trying to reach now" (WASHINGTON POST, 10/8).
