Word: nascars
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...should NASCAR rev up its popularity during a recession? Maybe Bruton Smith has the answer. Smith, the chairman and CEO of Speedway Motorsports, which owns seven racetracks on the Sprint Cup circuit, recently ruminated about three-time defending champ Jimmie Johnson at a media event. "Great guy," he said. "He's a neighbor. I like him a lot. I like his wife. But if Jimmie would just get out of his car and go over and slap somebody one time, that would help. He can slap me. I don't care, but I'd just like to see these drivers...
Things aren't as dire on the American stock-car circuit. But without question, NASCAR, which kicks off its racing season with its most prestigious race, the Daytona 500, on Feb. 15, has stalled. More than any other major pro sport, NASCAR depends on corporate sponsorships to fund its operations. Those logos splashed all over a driver's racing suit aren't just for show. The sponsorship has grown to the point where the more corporatized circuit has alienated a portion of the sport's beer-drinking core. And as these companies pull back on their marketing budgets...
...NASCAR is also tethered to the U.S. auto industry, which has required a massive bailout to save it from destruction. The Detroit Three sponsor teams and races and offer engineering support for the drivers and their crews. General Motors and Ford are among NASCAR's biggest television advertisers. Even Toyota, which controversially entered stock-car racing two years ago, expects a nearly $3.9 billion full-year loss, its first since 1950. An auto failure would be catastrophic for the sport. "The uncertainty of it all is what keeps you up at night," says NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France...
With high fuel prices deterring trips to the track last summer, NASCAR attendance dropped nearly 10% in 2008. This season, with the recession, ticket sales have lagged. In early February 2008, Daytona seats were sold out. This season, plenty of seats were still available. International Speedway, which owns 12 Sprint Cup tracks, including the Daytona International Speedway, recently announced that advance sales for all its tracks were down 17%. Eddie Gossage, president of the Texas Motor Speedway, a Speedway Motorsports track that hosts two Sprint Cup races, laments that funding for corporate hospitality tents has dropped. "All of the executives...
...Still, you don't hear any of the Big Three these days even thinking of opening a $1.2 billion, 2,000-employee facility in Georgia, as South Korea's Kia is set to do next year. It's enough to make a NASCAR driver take a victory...