The Daytona 500 sold out its 101,000-seat grandstand for the fourth year in a row. getty images
After a picture-perfect Daytona 500 race day that included jammed grandstands, ideal weather, social media buzz, competitive racing, no security issues and a storybook ending, the only thing left for NASCAR to cap off a perfect weekend would have been an increase in TV ratings.
It seemed that was in the offing, too, after Nielsen’s overnight rating was up 8 percent versus last year. But despite bumps in some major, non-traditional markets including Boston and Washington, D.C., the overnight did not hold. The national rating turned out flat, with viewership down 1 percent — depriving the sport of a much-needed bump.
Still, a renewed vibe of goodwill pulsated throughout the garage area during Speedweeks given the new direction of the sanctioning body under Chairman and CEO Jim France and President Steve Phelps. The Daytona 500 sold out its 101,000-seat grandstand for the fourth consecutive time and the race was still the most-viewed sports event of the weekend.
“Daytona Speedweeks has always been a spectacle that is difficult to capture in just a few words, but this year was particularly inspiring,” Phelps said in an email to Sports Business Journal. “Across all of my conversations throughout the week with industry stakeholders, team owners, track presidents, drivers and media, there was a unified, positive energy that we could all feel. It’s an exciting time for our sport.”
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy was there as part of NASCAR’s new advertising relationship with the media platform. Barstool and Portnoy heavily promoted the race in the days and hours before it, which was not lost on Mike Mulvihill, Fox Sports’ vice president of research, league operations and strategy, when he saw the big upticks in some urban Northeastern markets that typically under-index in NASCAR fans.
Still, the series clearly has work left to do in growing and maintaining its overall fan base.
■ CHANGE IN THE AIR: The feeling in Daytona was one of change, as the sanctioning body is mulling over everything from schedules to sponsorship structures to even a sale.
Possible schedule changes were on the minds of many, as NASCAR is looking at notable changes for 2020 and major changes for 2021. Phelps caused a minor stir when he revealed during a radio interview on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that the changes NASCAR is evaluating include events at the start of the season. That led to reporting that NASCAR could move from having Daytona as the season opener, as it has been since 1982, by having a warm-weather race or two elsewhere in the weeks before Daytona.
However, a source with knowledge of the discussions told Sports Business Journal that this possibility is just one idea among many under consideration. Many insiders were skeptical that Daytona would move away from being the opener, given that it has now had four consecutive sellouts, on top of the date equity built in for decades. But the fact that the move has even been considered shows just how serious Phelps is when he says that all options are on the table as the sport looks to reinvent itself.
■ BIG DAY FOR GIBBS: Denny Hamlin’s win in the Daytona 500 provided a crowning tribute for Joe Gibbs Racing, which is dedicating the season to J.D. Gibbs, the co-founder and co-chairman of JGR who passed away in January. J.D. originally recruited Hamlin to the race team.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Dave Alpern, first row, right, Joe Gibbs and driver Denny Hamlin celebrate their win with the Gibbs family.nigel kinrade
There are plenty of business implications moving forward. With J.D. no longer the heir to take over the team whenever Joe Gibbs retires, the question of the future of the team is one that has been raised. But JGR President Dave Alpern said the plan remains for the team to remain in the family.
Coy Gibbs, J.D.’s brother, has always been a part of JGR but has long run its Supercross team. However, Coy had already started to take a larger role in recent years as J.D.’s health deteriorated, and Alpern said that this will continue.
For instance, Coy represented JGR at a news conference three days before the race to announce a new alliance the team was forging with security/defense company Xtreme Concepts Inc.
Alpern added, “You look around sports and much like the Rooney family with the Steelers and Richard Petty with the No. 43, we hope that the Gibbs family is synonymous with the Nos. 18, 11, 19 and 20 for generations to come.”
■ SPONSORS ON DISPLAY: In a sport filled with brand marketing and sponsorship activation, the Daytona 500 always brings out the boldest advertisements and biggest hospitality rosters.
NASCAR sponsor Sugarlands Distilling Co. offered samples of its moonshine.adam stern
This year was no different.
Some of the brands that had the most buzz around the race included Ally, Busch Beer, Old Spice, Oscar Mayer and Sugarlands Distilling Co.
Team sponsor Old Spice splashed the face of driver Corey LaJoie on the hood of Go Fas Racing’s No. 32 Ford to advertise Old Spice’s new dry shampoo product. John Brownlee, Old Spice’s brand director, said, “With a touch of Old Spice humor on Corey’s car, the response has been overwhelmingly positive, especially on social media when the partnership was announced and the car was first revealed.”
AdventHealth showed off its newly branded track entrance.adam stern
Meanwhile, AdventHealth debuted its 20,000-square-foot “injector” track entrance, on which the company spent $1 million to $2 million to rebrand after it changed its name from Florida Hospital earlier this year. AdventHealth supplemented the injector advertising with a presented-by sponsorship of Speedweeks, a media buy on Fox Sports, and a midway activation zone that included a virtual reality experience.
The injector rebrand was based around AdventHealth’s “Feel Whole” healthy living campaign and included everything from a waterfall at the entrance to interactive games, social-sharing graphic generators, and rest areas complete with artificial turf and cornhole games. AdventHealth works with Aquarius Sports & Entertainment on its motorsports marketing.
