Word: sprints
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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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...
...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 in the face of massive layoffs and losses - Sprint, NASCAR's largest TV advertiser, will slash 8,000 jobs after losing $1.2 billion in the first three quarters of 2008 - the financial foundation of the sport is at risk. In fact, four weaker-performing teams in the Sprint Cup Series merged to try to cut costs and stay competitive: Gillett...
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...
NASCAR has already aggressively trimmed expenses. Like many companies, teams have turned to layoffs: 600 to 800 workers from Sprint Cup teams have been let go since the end of last season. "It has served to cull the flock," says Steve Kalik, a team manager for Specialty Racing in NASCAR's second-tier Nationwide series. NASCAR also banned testing prior to Daytona and during the season, essentially R&D time for the cars at its sanctioned tracks for the 2009 season. France estimates the ban will save teams $30 million. (See pictures of custom big rigs...
...foot traffic. At Daytona, the cost of backstretch seats was reduced from $95 to $55, the lowest price since 1995. Race organizers negotiated with local hotels to eliminate minimum-five-day stays. Organizers in Charlotte, N.C., have also persuaded the city's hotels to reduce rates for the two Sprint Cup races at Lowe's Motor Speedway (LMS). According to LMS president Marcus Smith, the track not only dropped prices in some sections but also refunded the difference to fans who had already purchased, an effort, he says, to show loyalty to the customers who have helped build the sport...