How did NASCAR drivers become so marketable?

[Spinaroonie]

I don't watch Nascar so I really don't understand how the drivers got so marketable.

I mean, they're behing a helmet inside a car that makes left turns for three or four hours. How did their faces get put on junk? You see it for like 30 sec after a race if they win.

 

[glamorilla]

nascar drivers are sexy.

 

[concrete]

a left hand turn in America is a some what hard thing to doooo...

 

[Azwed]

I don't watch Nascar so I really don't understand how the drivers got so marketable.

I mean, they're behing a helmet inside a car that makes left turns for three or four hours. How did their faces get put on junk? You see it for like 30 sec after a race if they win.

People identify with the car number and color scheme too.

What about football? They players have helmets on most of the game except for when they show the sidelines.

I have actually wanted to get into a discussion about NASCAR and try and run down some of the reasons it has become so popular. I don't feel like doing it now though cause I am tired.

 

[Matthew D]

I am glad someone asked that question.. I have been wondering it also.

 

[Spinaroonie]

Re: Re: How did NASCAR drivers become so marketable?

What about football? They players have helmets on most of the game except for when they show the sidelines.

Yeah, but in Football, you can see a big difference in the way an individual plays, for instance Emitt Smith plays differently than Randy Moss, how different can the driving styles be, esp to the untrained eye?

 

[Gil_T2]

I don't watch Nascar so I really don't understand how the drivers got so marketable.

I mean, they're behing a helmet inside a car that makes left turns for three or four hours. How did their faces get put on junk? You see it for like 30 sec after a race if they win.

It all comes down to MONEY usually spent by NASCAR to keep there product in the public eye.Here in Australia they have the V8 supercars which is our HOLDENS(GM)&FORDS they get lots of TV time so being inquisitive I contacted the TV station to find out how to get my favorite motorsport on and gave them ratings from diffent cable networks who have regular shows but I did get a honest reply saying "It all comes down to money ....YOU get the backing and we will show it".

I'm sure you have the same system there too.

 

[dickE]

Mainly it's because all other 'major league' sports' players, team owners, staff, et al have so "shit in their nests" lately before the public.....endlessly running to court to settle constant petty disagreements where litigation is totally unnecessary.....trouble with the law in their personal lives....trouble with drugs, to....actions ranging from just plain bad manners to despicable, abhoring displays of poor sportsmanship on the field and sidelines.......to nothing short of absolutely gouging the fan at every turn with punitive ticket and refreshment costs....and so on, it's left a huge void in the public's desire to feel proud of a player/driver/team/organization..........and, whalllllla!! there's Nascar!

Any questions?

Dismissed.

 

[lavender]

 

[doctor_insanus]

Dick Trickle!

 

[riff]

I love racing.

I hate NASCAR because it is one big commercial. I actually like the racing, but it's all the crap around it I can't stand.

Take Dale Earnhardt Jr. He is a good driver, but he live on the fame of his old man. He has become their new poster boy, like Jeff Gordon version 2.

Speaking of commercials and NASCAR- they have this campaign called "How Bad Have You Got It?" One of the series of ads in this campaign features a "host" who bears an uncanny resemblence to Ronald Reagan.

It's a brilliant conception so far as lifestyle marketing goes, I just can't stand Ronald Reagan and the lifestyle he represents. Why didn't they chose like, say, a Jesse Jackson look alike? That's what I loathe about NASCAR.

 

[Cheyenne]

trouble with the law in their personal lives....

Which was the one who was accused of domestic abuse recently- one of the popular ones. Gordon? Earnhardt?

actions ranging from just plain bad manners to despicable, abhoring displays of poor sportsmanship on the field and sidelines

HAHAHAHAHAHA! And running into other cars on the track on purpose to "bump" them out of the race is great manners? How many grudge bumps are there every week to pay back a driver who bumped someone else the week before? At least in football, you aren't likely to kill someone with your bad manners.

.......to nothing short of absolutely gouging the fan at every turn with punitive ticket and refreshment costs

And the price of NASCAR tickets is reasonable? A friend is a fan- I think he told me his last ticket was $138. And that wasn't for a great seat.

Yup, dismissed. NASCAR is big business, just like any other "sport."

 

[SINthysist]

America was a great country of tinkerers and inventors. The machines we made, especially in areas of transportation and the building of infrastructure, changed the world. (England, in many ways, too, I should add).

NASCAR, to keep this short, is what reamins of that legacy. Men who love machines and women who love the men that love machines.

We all celebrate our great American heritage in so many ways..

 

[Gil_T2]

LOL

Dick Trickle!

When I was in the US in 95 I could get over some of the names drivers had like on the dirt ovals (REAL SPEEDWAY) there were names like Kenny Cope,Randy Ridge,etc and years ago a driver wasn't meant to be racing at a track so he ran under the name
Luke Warmwater and no body asked who he was.In MIDGET USAC WEST COAST there was Billy Boat who now drives the IRL type cars.
I'll stop there because I've gone blank but there were many more WEIRD names.

Luke Warmwater was California driver Jimmy Sills.

IN MY VIEW ANY RACING ON PAVED TRACKS SUCKS get out to the dirt oval and see real racing and the best will be at tracks that start the fast guys towards the back NOT OFF THE FRONT

 

[SINthysist]

Yeah, I really miss sitting on turn one and being pelted by dirt-clods traveling faster than a Nolan Ryan fastball. Now when I was a kid, I could always find some sport in that...

 

[Gil_T2]

LOL

Dick Trickle!

When I was in the US in 95 I could get over some of the names drivers had like on the dirt ovals (REAL SPEEDWAY) there were names like Kenny Cope,Randy Ridge,etc and years ago a driver wasn't meant to be racing at a track so he ran under the name
Luke Warmwater and no body asked who he was.In MIDGET USAC WEST COAST there was Billy Boat who now drives the IRL type cars.
I'll stop there because I've gone blank but there were many more WEIRD names.

Luke Warmwater was California driver Jimmy Sills.

IN MY VIEW ANY RACING ON PAVED TRACKS SUCKS get out to the dirt oval and see real racing and the best will be at tracks that start the fast guys towards the back NOT OFF THE FRONT

 

[Viper Vic]

Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public.
H. L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)

 

[Spinaroonie]

Ok, ok... I get the appeal of Racing, the machines and the speed and all that.

BUt.. I'm wondering how the drivers, the human being inside it get to be on trading cards and stuff when they wear a helmet, special fire mask and have a visor down. You can't even see their eyes. Even in football, you can see faces in the helmets.

How did you get the Gordon's and the Earnhart's of the world on towels at K-mart and whatnot? They're not visible. The cars are... The marketing the cars would be easy as fuck. Marketing the human, whose face is never seen during the competion... that's much harder.

 

[SINthysist]

Heroes.

The common man needs heroes. I suspect always has, always will. A knowledge that there is someone better than him, out there somewhere, hope for mankind and the future of his progeny.

It is not the car. The car is the horse. The cowboy may have a good horse, but he is the gunslinger, the lone warrior, the thinker, and ultimately the winner over evil.

We need heroes. We love the lone Samurai. They Japanese love the myth of the American cowboy. John Woo, action director says no more martial action movies, he will now explore his favorite genre, Westerns.

I think, this is where the answer to your marketing question lies…

 

[LadyBlueMoon]

We need heroes. We love the lone Samurai. They Japanese love the myth of the American cowboy. John Woo, action director says no more martial action movies, he will now explore his favorite genre, Westerns.

It's about time somebody made a good western again.... has there been one since The Long Riders?

And I'm rather ignorant here, but isn't Woo Chinese?

 

[SINthysist]

Yes. He grew up in Hong Kong and is known as the king of martial arts action movies. Someone more pop-culture-ish can give you some of the names. In a recent interview I read, he said his first love was the genre he grew up with in Hong Kong, the western. He went on to say that he would no longer make action movies and that his next effort would be a western.

I can't wait...

 

[Spinaroonie]

Heroes.

The common man needs heroes. I suspect always has, always will. A knowledge that there is someone better than him, out there somewhere, hope for mankind and the future of his progeny.

It is not the car. The car is the horse. The cowboy may have a good horse, but he is the gunslinger, the lone warrior, the thinker, and ultimately the winner over evil.

We need heroes. We love the lone Samurai. They Japanese love the myth of the American cowboy. John Woo, action director says no more martial action movies, he will now explore his favorite genre, Westerns.

I think, this is where the answer to your marketing question lies…

Wow...

I think you're dead on.

 

[morninggirl5]

Which was the one who was accused of domestic abuse recently- one of the popular ones. Gordon? Earnhardt?

No Nascar driver that i know of has been charged with domestic abuse. Jeff Gordon (damn, i hate cussing like that) is in the midst of a divorce, but there has been no allegation of abuse. Earnhardt, Jr. was recently charged with criminal trespass. He and a couple (?) of buddies rode their ATV's on someone else's property. He's done a set of public service announcements as a part of his plea agreement for this.

HAHAHAHAHAHA! And running into other cars on the track on purpose to "bump" them out of the race is great manners? How many grudge bumps are there every week to pay back a driver who bumped someone else the week before? At least in football, you aren't likely to kill someone with your bad manners.

You won't find very many drivers lasting in Nascar, particularly in the upper levels if they decide to "bump" a competitor out of the way. Nascar takes a strong stand against anything that can be construed as "detrimental to the sport" and the penalties are harsh. (Before someone brings up Dale and T. Labonte and the Bristol night race, remember who you're talking about. That's another arguement completely.)

Nascar parked Kevin Harvick earlier this year during a truck race and refused to allow him to compete the next day in the Winston Cup race at Martinsville when it was reported that he alledgedly told his crew over the radio that he was going to take out another competitor and the two had contact for a third time during the race.

And the price of NASCAR tickets is reasonable? A friend is a fan- I think he told me his last ticket was $138. And that wasn't for a great seat.

$138 and it wasn't a great seat? Where did he buy his tickets. I've never paid that and i have never had bad seats, anywhere. I attend races at Charlotte, Atlanta, and Talladega and all of them are in the upper range for ticket prices.

Yup, dismissed. NASCAR is big business, just like any other "sport."

Nascar IS big business. Much to the lament of long time fans, like myself. There are good points to the increased popularity, but there are also some things that really suck. Don't even give me the opportunity to get started on my opinions of the Network TV package or the Cookie-Cutter Race Tracks.

 

[morninggirl5]

Re: Re: How did NASCAR drivers become so marketable?

People identify with the car number and color scheme too.

What about football? They players have helmets on most of the game except for when they show the sidelines.

I have actually wanted to get into a discussion about NASCAR and try and run down some of the reasons it has become so popular. I don't feel like doing it now though cause I am tired.

Any time you're ready for that conversation, just let me know.

 

[morninggirl5]

I love racing.

I hate NASCAR because it is one big commercial. I actually like the racing, but it's all the crap around it I can't stand.

Take Dale Earnhardt Jr. He is a good driver, but he live on the fame of his old man. He has become their new poster boy, like Jeff Gordon version 2.

That statement is absolutely fucking bullshit. Dale Earnhardt Jr made his way to Winston Cup racing by earning it. His father NEVER handed him anything on a silver platter. He worked as a mechanic in his father's Chevy dealership to earn money to race his street stock car. In fact, he was FIRED from the dealership because he kept showing up late for work.

Dale Earnhardt did one thing and one thing only for his children (Jr., Kelly, and Kerry) when they decided to race. He made sure their cars were safe. He left all the other work to them and the crews they managed to get behind them. Dale, Jr. earned his chance at the Busch Series and his job in Winston Cup. Dale Earnhardt was the owner of those teams, yes. But the teams had to make it on their own.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. ISN'T the new poster boy and probably won't ever be. He's too much his father's son to ever toe the Nascar line and not tell it like he sees it.

Calling Jr. Jeff Gordon2 is probably the worst insult i've ever heard uttered about him.

Speaking of commercials and NASCAR- they have this campaign called "How Bad Have You Got It?" One of the series of ads in this campaign features a "host" who bears an uncanny resemblence to Ronald Reagan.

It's a brilliant conception so far as lifestyle marketing goes, I just can't stand Ronald Reagan and the lifestyle he represents. Why didn't they chose like, say, a Jesse Jackson look alike? That's what I loathe about NASCAR.

The commercials are stupid as hell. They were much better last year when it was fans. The host was chosen not because he looks like Ronald Reagan, but because the idiots in marketing wanted it to be some sort of magazine show spoof.