The head of NASCAR said on Thursday that things are not as bad for the American stock-car racing circuit as last year, when a weak economy hurt fan attendance and corporate financial backing.
"Some things are stabilizing for us in our sport," NASCAR Chief Executive Brian France said, pointing specifically to the motor sport automakers that have cut racing-related spending.
NASCAR's 2010 racing season kicks off on Feb. 14 with the Daytona 500 race, dubbed the sport's Super Bowl by many analysts. Fans want to see if driver Jimmie Johnson can win his fifth consecutive Sprint Series title and will watch with interest as IndyCar driver Danica Patrick races part-time in NASCAR's junior Nationwide Series.
Last year was rough for NASCAR, which has an estimated 75 million fans and is one of the most popular U.S. sports, as lower corporate sponsorship spending forced many race teams to cut jobs and some to merge to survive.
While the sport added numerous sponsors last year, its high-profile auto partners -- General Motors Co[GM.UL], Ford Motor Co<F.N>, Chrysler and Toyota Motor Corp<7203.T> -- all slashed racing-related spending. France acknowledged that in saying their investment "may be different" in the future.
"All four car manufacturers that compete in NASCAR are much healthier than they were just a year ago," France said at the sport's research center at Concord, North Carolina.
GM and Chrysler emerged from bankruptcy last year after being restructured with billions of dollars in U.S. government funding.
"The rest of the economy is much trickier," he added, in reference to the race tracks' lower attendance and race teams' loss of corporate sponsors last year.
Last February, research firm IEG, a unit of advertising giant WPP Plc <WPP.L>, estimated 2009 sponsorship spending in motor sports by North American companies would drop 5.7 percent, marking the first decline in 25 years of tracking such data.
"The teams have obviously been affected immensely," France said. "With the sponsorship business model that has been tough, no question about it. Companies are very cautious to invest a lot of money in sponsorships of any kind.
"Despite that, that's starting to thaw a little bit," he added. "The teams are getting renewals of sponsorships."
Race track operators also saw lower fan attendance and spending last year. Many tracks are offering fans lower ticket prices to lure them back.
On the track, France and other officials announced a series of design as well as rule changes to encourage more aggressive driving, including more contact. The hope is to make races more exciting in a sport that saw TV ratings sag last year.
"This is a contact sport," France said. "We want to see drivers mixing it up."
The France family owns NASCAR, as well as a 69 percent voting interest in race track operator International Speedway Corp <ISCA.O>.
With barely three weeks to go before the NASCAR season begins, Denny Hamlin has put a potential dent in his early-season hopes by tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. And, in the tradition of infamous NASCAR injuries like Jimmie Johnson breaking his hand falling off a golf cart and Carl Edwards breaking a foot playing Frisbee, Hamlin suffered the injury in a non-racing context -- in this case, playing pickup basketball.
Hamlin has opted to wait until the end of the season to have the knee repaired, a strategy which will surely be second-guessed if Hamlin doesn't make a strong run at the championship. Hamlin hasn't disclosed the severity of the injury, but it's obviously not bad enough yet to warrant immediate treatment.
The reason why this injury could be significant is that Hamlin's this year's trendy pick to unseat Johnson, which means that -- if history holds -- he won't get anywhere near Victory Lane for awhile. And if he does, he's probably not going to be doing any Edwards-style backflips off his car.
NASCAR relaxes rules; now it's the drivers' turn to step up
Say this for NASCAR: the sport does listen to its fans.
In a sharp contrast to sports like the NFL, which seems hell-bent on bending fans to its iron will (their current slogan is an unbelievably arrogant "You want the NFL? Go to the NFL."), NASCAR has announced an entire slate of rules changes. The rules -- many of which are just rollbacks of current tight regulations -- will, in theory, improve the on-track racing and allow for more character to the races.
First off, NASCAR has lifted restrictions on bump-drafting and increased the size of the restrictor plate at Daytona, which will ratchet up the power of the cars. And anybody not in the mood for trading paint will probably want to sit this race out.
The impetus for the changes was last November's Talladega race, in which NASCAR handed down a bumping ban on the morning of the race which resulted in an afternoon that had all the competitive fire and drama of a line at the bank. Fans howled, broadcasters griped and drivers complained, and while NASCAR didn't quite admit fault, their rule changes are an implicit indication that they've realized something was out of whack.
The cars will also have a different look and feel to them with the (re)introduction of the spoiler, replacing the rear wing on the Car of Tomorrow. Drivers testing the spoiler have so far been pleased, and the appearance of the spoiler should gratify longtime fans.
However, one rule which will stay is the yellow-line law, which prohibits passing below the yellow line at tracks like Talladega. While some drivers said that they would love to see the yellow line rule eliminated on the final turn of the race, most indicated that such a situation would cause a lot more problems than it would solve.
Interestingly, NASCAR -- which has long taken heat for its perceived attempt to create vanilla drivers -- has expressly indicated that it wants drivers to "mix it up a little bit differently," in top dog Brian France's words. Let's be honest, everybody wants to see a bit of drama both on the track and in the garage, and if somebody takes a little swing at somebody else -- particularly somebody who deserves it -- what's the harm? As long as we don't see any Gilbert Arenas-type guns-in-the-garage situation, it appears that NASCAR may not be playing school principal with some of the guys who act up now and then.
"It doesn't mean that you get a free pass out-of-jail card," NASCAR president Mike Helton said, apparently meaning "get out of jail free." "But it certainly means that what we are encouraging the competitors [is] for their character and their personality, within reason, to be unfolded."
And that's an important point to make. The rules have been loosened, and it's now up to the drivers to step up and carve out a name for themselves. "We will put it back in the hands of drivers," vice president of competition Robin Pemberton said, "and we will say 'Boys, have at it and have a good time.'"
It's obviously early yet, but this is, so far, a very good sign for the 2010 season. Your move, drivers.
2010 Daytona 500: Chevrolet NASCAR Sprint Cup Qualifying Recap
02/06/2010
Team Chevy driver Mark Martin, No. 5 GoDaddy.com Impala started the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) season off in great style by winning the pole for the Feb. 14th 52nd annual Daytona 500. It is the 51-year old driver's 49th career pole, but his first for the Great American race.
With today's accomplishment, Martin becomes the oldest driver in NASCAR history to capture the number one starting position for the season-opening race.
It is the 19th time Chevrolet has captured the Daytona 500 pole, more than any other manufacturer.
Also locked in to the February 14th Daytona 500 is Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Impala, with his second place qualifying effort today.
The one-two effort by the Hendrick Motorsports drivers will put each of them on the pole for one of the two Gatorade Duel at Daytona 150-mile races on Thursday, February 11, 2010. Martin will start on the pole of race number one with Earnhardt, Jr. on the pole of the second qualifying race. The remainder of the 43-car field will be set based on the results of the Thursday events.
Four of the top-five and seven of the top-10 qualifiers are Chevy Impala drivers. Ryan Newman, No. 39 US Army Impala, qualified third with Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Target Impala, setting the fifth fastest time.
Defending and four-time NSCS champion Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Impala, posted the sixth quickest time. Clint Bowyer, No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Impala, qualified eighth and four-time NSCS champion Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Impala, was the 10th fastest in qualifying.
A total of 54 cars made qualifying runs in an attempt to make the Daytona 500 starting field.
The Gatorade Duel at Daytona Qualifying Races are scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. Thursday with live coverage on Speed TV, MRN Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Danica Patrick will make her NASCAR debut this weekend at Daytona International Speedway, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet in Saturday’s second-tier Nationwide Series race.
The decision announced today to race at Daytona was made after team officials dissected her stock-car racing debut in the ARCA race at Daytona on Saturday. She overcame a midrace spin to finish sixth.
JR Motorsports has acquired the points from CJM Racing to ensure Patrick a spot in the field. CJM Racing finished 15th in the owner standings last season, but has suspended operations. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive a second JR Motorsports entry in the Nationwide race.
“I think she can do it,” crew chief Tony Eury Jr. said after Saturday’s Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 ARCA race. “We’re ready to go.”
Patrick certainly exhibited plenty of moxie and ability Saturday in the often finicky draft of a restrictor-plate event, where underpowered cars often run inches apart in tight packs because of horsepower-robbing plates on the carburetors that restrict airflow to the engine and reduce speeds.
Patrick started 12th and hung around the top 10 until Lap 54, when she made contract with Nelson Piquet Jr. off Turn 4. After skidding through the grass, Patrick's car made a half spin up the track, but she caught it before it hit the wall. After a pit stop to repair minor damage, her No. 7 Chevrolet returned in 23rd, and she rallied in the last 20 laps.
“I got bumped from the side, the front, the back, and I learned a lot,” she said. “I had so much fun. I can’t wait to do it again.”
Kelley Earnhardt, who co-owns JRM with Eury and her younger brother Dale Jr., was “ecstatic” with Patrick’s performance, so much so that she recalled her late father’s famous charge from 18th to first in the final five laps at Talladega. That October 2000 win was Dale Earnhardt’s last.
“She did a fantastic job,” Kelley Earnhardt said. “I kept thinking, ‘C’mon, let’s pull off an Earnhardt and pass 18 cars in three laps and win this thing,’ you know?”
Earnhardt is “50-50” on whether she wants Patrick to delay her NASCAR debut until Feb. 20 at Auto Club Speedway of Southern California. “It’s totally her decision,” Earnhardt said.
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Correction: NASCAR 2010 kicks off 02/06!
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