The faces at the races are changing
Fans play vital part in fueling sport
By JIM UTTER
ThatsRacin.com Writer
They are 75 million strong.
About 60 percent are men, 40 percent women.
Nearly 60 percent are 44 years old or younger.
And, perhaps most telling, 42 percent of them earn $50,000 or more a year.
They are the fans of NASCAR.
They are the foundation on which drivers, car owners, sponsors, TV networks and NASCAR itself rest their financial footing.
Without fans willing to buy the tickets, buy driver merchandise, rent hotel rooms and buy sponsors' products, there would be no 150,000-seat tracks, no expensive motor coaches for the drivers and car owners and no $2.4 billion TV deals.
"It really boils down to the fact that the fans pay the bills," said Winston Cup driver Kyle Petty. "You look at the other sports, say basketball or football, and the players' obligation is to the owners.
"Our obligation is not only to the owner as a driver, but it's to the fans, too, because they are the ones who help the owners make money."
Any examination of the money behind NASCAR, and specifically its Winston Cup series, must include a look at the people who pay to see the show.
"We're going to race and we're going to race hard, whether there are 10 people in the stands or 200,000," driver Ken Schrader said.
"But to make our series work, we need financial support - and that comes from the folks who sit in the grandstands, who turn on the television, who buy our sponsors' products and who purchase the souvenirs.
"Without them, none of this is here."
The sport's rapid growth in prominence has caused some swelling in the price tag for being a fan.
And since the companies participating in NASCAR through various sponsorships do so to make money, we will look at why these companies find NASCAR fans so financially appealing.
But first, we'll take a closer look at this 75 million-member army of spenders.
Who are the fans?
NASCAR fans are spread through nearly all age brackets.
In fact, the percentage of fans in three age groups -- 18- 24 (11 percent), 25- 34 (21 percent) and 45-54 (19 percent) -- mirrors those of the U.S. population at large.
The biggest percentage of NASCAR fans - 26 percent – is between 35 and 44, which represents 21 percent of the U.S. population. Nine percent of fans are 65 or older.
When NASCAR first drew national notice it was predominantly a Southern sport and most races were held in the Carolinas, Florida, Georgia and Virginia.
Today, fans are broadly - and surprisingly quite evenly - distributed across the map.
Still, the largest group of fans remains concentrated in the South, roughly 38 percent.
And, not surprisingly, most of the Winston Cup series' races remain in the region, at tracks including those in or near Charlotte, N.C.; Atlanta; Bristol, Tenn.; Richmond, Va.; Daytona Beach, Fla.; Talladega, Ala., and Homestead, Fla.
The second-largest percentage of fans (24 percent) hails from the Midwest, home to some of Winston Cup's newest venues in Indianapolis; Kansas City, Kan., and Joliet, Ill.
The Northeast makes up the third-highest percentage (20 percent) and continues to be home to some of the series' most ardent fans, with tracks in Long Pond, Pa.; Dover, Del.; Loudon, N.H., and Watkins Glen, N.Y.
The West makes up the smallest percentage, at 19 percent, and is clearly the focus of NASCAR's most recent efforts to expand its fan base.
The Winston Cup series has added races in Las Vegas; Sonoma, Calif.; Fontana, Calif., and Phoenix since 1988. In addition, officials announced earlier this season that a second race date would be added at California Speedway in Fontana beginning in 2004.
Perhaps most enticing to sponsors and other advertisers is the sport's attractiveness to families and those families' brand loyalties. Through a detailed study in 2001, NASCAR found that among NASCAR fans, 40 percent have families with children under the age of 18.
Such fans are three times more likely to purchase a sponsor's product or services than a non-sponsor's.
In effect, fans of NASCAR not only show their support by buying tickets and watching race programming on TV, but by supporting the sponsors and advertisers that help drivers and teams participate as well.
It's no wonder that NASCAR sponsorships have, in many cases, become so rewarding.
What it costs to be a fan
Fans face the same costs as those in other major professional sports, baseball, football and basketball among them.
Tickets aren't cheap.
Souvenirs quickly can become one of the largest expenses of the day.
Food and beverages bought at the site of the sporting event can run upwards of four or five times their cost in a grocery or convenience store.
And in some important ways, NASCAR fans face hardships that others don't.
Most commonly, many are likely to spend three or four days at the site of a Winston Cup race, while basketball, football and baseball events are generally one-day affairs, unless there's a championship series of some sort.
Almost all Winston Cup race weekends begin with practice and qualifying sessions on Friday, practice and secondary races on Saturday and the Cup race on Sunday. The extra time at NASCAR events can make race weekends very expensive for fans, particularly those who travel from outside the area to attend.
Although prices to attend Friday and Saturday events pale in comparison with the Sunday Cup races, the secondary items - food, drink, souvenirs - remain the same.
NASCAR and track officials say increasingly more of ticket-buying fans don't live in the area where races are held. For instance, officials with Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., estimate that up to 65 percent of ticket buyers for the 2003 Coca-Cola 600 came from outside North and South Carolina.
Additional travel means visitors are likely to spend money on lodging, either camping at or near the track or staying in hotels.
As dramatic as the sport's growth has been, the rise in ticket prices has been jarring as well.
For instance, a frontstretch ticket at the first Daytona 500 in 1959 cost $8. By 1969, the same seat had increased to $20. By 1989 that same ticket had risen to only $30, but since then it has climbed astronomically.
In 1999 - while NASCAR's popularity was bubbling and tracks were adding seats almost every season - that same frontstretch ticket went for $105 - an increase of 350 percent in 10 years. This season, that seat cost $120.
Fans can often attend a Winston Cup race for a reasonable price, but the lower the cost, the less attractive the view.
For example, a ticket for a Cup race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., can be had for as little as $19. Those seats, however, are typically lower on the track's backstretch and don't offer a very good view of the action.
Ticket prices for the Oct. 11 UAW- GM Quality 500 at Lowe's range from $19 to $119. Those prices are only good for the Cup race date and don't include admission to qualifying or the NASCAR Busch Series race also scheduled that weekend.
Also not included: food, drink, souvenirs and lodging.
NASCAR fans are notorious for their love of camping, either in a track's infield or near the track. It is by far the least expensive way.
For example, recreational vehicle parking at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway in March of this season cost $405. That got the buyer weekendlong infield parking and two passes. It cost $90 for passes for each additional person.
It cost $150 to $300 for basic RV parking outside the track, including two tickets for each of the three days of racing. Fans can drive in the Friday before a race, park the RV for the weekend, and pull out after the last fans have left on Sunday night.
Those same fans are likely to spend $150 or more per night for a hotel room in the Darlington, S.C., area and are also likely to be assessed a two- or three- night minimum.
Hotel costs range greatly for NASCAR events and are affected by several factors. Here are some general rules of thumb:
- If fans know far in advance they plan to attend a race and require a hotel, the earlier a reservation is made – either by phone, Internet or travel agent - the more likely a reasonable rate can be found, and one that does not require a minimum stay.
- Tracks located in metropolitan areas - such as Charlotte, N.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta - offer lower prices and more choices because they are better equipped to handle such events.
- When traveling to tracks in more rural areas, search for hotels away from the nearest large city.
The majority of race-day traffic moves to and from tracks in relation to the nearest large city. By staying away from the flow, the traffic will be a little easier to deal with and the hotel prices lower.
Several tracks have started to coordinate with hotels for combination room/ticket deals. Always ask a track's ticket office what specials or discounts are available with lodging included.
Food, drink and souvenir prices generally don't vary much from track to track - they are all high.
At Charlotte, drinks range from $3 for a 20-ounce soft drink to $5 or more for a 16-ounce beer.
Hot dogs and slices of pizza go for $3 each; sub sandwiches or steak sandwiches are $6 or more; and frozen drinks $2-$3 each.
Souvenirs range from $3 for a magnet to $20 for a baseball hat or T-shirt. Of course there are extremes as well – jackets with team logos for $100 or more or driver helmets that go for hundreds of dollars.
NASCAR fans have long mastered the art of using coolers to bring food and drink to the tracks. But with fans having to come early and leave late - especially at highly attended Winston Cup races - they typically make at least one trip to a track's concession area.
With the enormous cost involved, it can be expensive to be a fan of NASCAR, but obviously many find it rewarding.
Companies, too, find NASCAR rewarding, as they tap into the fans' dedication to the sport they enjoy.
Why sponsors pay to play
NASCAR fans are willing to spend and they are loyal - those two traits provide the perfect incentive for companies to advertise and invest in NASCAR.
Companies bank on brand recognition and they're cashing in on that philosophy in NASCAR.
At least 36 companies signed on as "official sponsors of NASCAR" this season; 17 of them are Fortune 500 companies.
As NASCAR's popularity and financial success has skyrocketed, so has the involvement of some of the country's biggest companies.
Where once the names of local filling stations and grocery chains adorned the sides of cars, now giant corporations such as Budweiser, Kodak, McDonald's and UPS haven taken their places.
Official sponsors of NASCAR receive several perks for their investment, including rights to use the NASCAR name in promotions, the ability to create a logo including the company name and NASCAR logo, and tie-ins with upwards of 200 marketing partners of NASCAR.
But what about those sponsors that pay anywhere from $6 to $16 million a year to color a Winston Cup Series' car?
The reasons for those companies' involvement and how they perceive their return on that investment seem to vary little.
"By tapping in the passion that fans and UPS employees feel for Dale Jarrett and the Robert Yates Racing team, we've created programs to deliver something new to the sport, expanded UPS services to the racing sector of the automotive supply chain and provided incentives for our employee performance," said John Beystehner, UPS senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing.
UPS is among the companies that have successfully used NASCAR to build its brand awareness," said Brian France, NASCAR's executive vice president.
"NASCAR is a sport that gives sponsors a great deal of focus and a brand-loyal fan base," he said. "UPS has been aggressive and innovative in linking its sponsorship to its brand and services to add even more value to the association."
Cathy Baad, consumer promotions coordinator at Kellogg Company in Battle Creek, Mich., said her company's "all-family" brands - such as Frosted Flakes, Raisin Bran and Cheez-It - fit well with NASCAR's demographics.
Kellogg sponsors Hendrick Motorsports' No. 5 Chevrolet and two-time Winston Cup champion Terry Labonte.
"Our NASCAR involvement makes it possible to do this in-store, on-package and at-track. We're able to energize our retail customers every time we bring a Kellogg's / got milk? promotional concept to them," Baad said.
"We also have the ability to offer additional opportunities by providing our customers with VIP treatment through our trackside hospitality program in nearly every race market."
Many companies do extensive research before making an investment in NASCAR. They are well aware of the strong connections between fan and sponsor.
Valvoline targets NASCAR fans because there is a very visceral connection between race fans and the products of a company that lubricated the winning car in America's first race (in 1895) and has brought so much innovation to both high-performance and everyday driving," said Jim Rocco, senior vice president of The Valvoline Co.
Valvoline sponsors the No. 10 Pontiacs of MBV Motorsports and driver Johnny Benson.
Rocco said a sponsor like Valvoline - a product used in racing and car production - can reap many benefits.
"You have to remember: Valvoline makes premium products that are used in the race car, unlike many other sponsors," Rocco said.
"We have grown market share and solidified relationships with key audiences such as retailers and automotive service providers and our NASCAR involvement has played a role."
The sponsors in NASCAR - and the fan base of the sport - have also benefited from increased television exposure.
Nothing says big money like a six-year, $2.4 billion TV deal.
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