Changing Racers’ Image from Good Ol’ Boys to Fighter Pilots, NASCAR Negotiating Through Twists and Turns of Evolving Sports Marketing Landscape, Plans to Beef Up Profile in Las Vegas
By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
It was 1998 and I was reporting a story on the 50th anniversary of NASCAR, which, at the time, was a marketing juggernaut and was mentioned alongside MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL as a member of what some were calling the “Big Five” of major league sports
Back then, North Carolina native Dale Earnhardt, Sr. was a talented, hard-driving racer and colorful character representing the sport’s good-ol’-boy Southern roots before he died three years later in a horrible crash at Daytona, while Hollywood-looking Jeff Gordon (a FOX Sports broadcaster this weekend in Las Vegas) was taking the big leagues of car racing into mainstream America’s living rooms. It was a sports marketer’s dream as race fans showed more loyalty to products endorsed by NASCAR racers than just about any other sport around.
But 22 years later, it’s safe to say those were the sport’s economic glory days, NASCAR’s boom times. During the past two decades. attendance has dropped off at races, while TV ratings have also decreased since the turn of the century, though there are promising signs of upward ratings trends. But google NASCAR and attendance and you will see the common denominator amid the headlines.
Today is the 72nd anniversary of the NASCAR’s founding. And these are new, challenging sports marketing days for the sport. The product is consumed differently. Sports betting is here to stay and growing — the next frontier of engaging fans. Sports are trying to leverage esports versions of their product, too, to grow their brands; consider the NBA and its NBA 2K League.
NASCAR knows the business landscape has changed. NASCAR is here for three races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend, the second weekend of racing action this year after the race organization staged its Super Bowl in Daytona Beach earlier this week. NASCAR returns in September to Sin City.
NASCAR is well aware of Las Vegas’ increasing profile on the country’s sports landscape. NASCAR plans to beef up more paid media and make execs and drivers more accessible to increase its business footprint in the hot Vegas sports market.
Nationally, NASCAR knows it can’t replicate the Golden Era of racing a quarter-century ago. But NASCAR still has an impressive roster of racers to market personalities. Take 24-year-old Chase Elliott, a legacy driver with the good looks of Gordon. He’s well-spoken with strong sponsors, the son of 1988 Winston Cup series champion Bill Elliott.
Then you have 34-year-old Kyle Busch, a recognizable name for Las Vegans who is known for his authentic personality whether he’s driving local tracks like the Bullring at the Speedway here in Las Vegas or at iconic venues like Daytona. He’s an anti-hero, a real-deal driver through and through, and provides the yang to Elliott’s ying. Both Elliot and Busch are popular racers who win.
A third marketable NASCAR personality who can move the needle is Bubba Wallace, a 26-year-old black driver who transcends the diversity issue with a big charismatic personality. Wallace and another driver, his buddy Ryan Blaney, play in a metal band and offer another way to appeal to sports fans.
Like most sports, NASCAR is constantly looking to maintain its loyal hard-core base while trying to lure fans from the coveted 18-34 age base. Keep in mind, NASCAR has a partnership with Barstool Sports for a second straight year.
NASCAR also knows the power of sports betting and its role in engaging fans. Scott Warfield, NASCAR managing director of gaming and esports, has also helped revamp the way NASCAR is wagered on in legal sports books around the globe.
He also spearheaded NASCAR’s live data partnership with Genius, which has helped bring live in-race betting on NASCAR to sports books in the U.S., with eight new live betting options that debuted at the Daytona 500 last weekend. Warfield also ran point on a recent deal with Penn National Gaming, which made them the first official gaming operator of NASCAR.
This town knows all about sports and gambling. Las Vegas-based MGM Resorts International has gambling partnerships with MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS and the Las Vegas Raiders.
Caesars Entertainment is also a founding partner of the Raiders and their new domed, 65,000-seat venue, Allegiant Stadium.
And Las Vegas-based Circa Sports, the downtown sports gambling brainchild of The D owner Derek Stevens, has already cut a deal with casinos in Colorado.
LVSportsBiz.com also caught up with Kevin Camper, who oversees sales and marketing for the Speedway and also works for the track’s owner, Speedway Motorsports.
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