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Showing Original Post only (View all)Wooing Newcomers to 'NASCAR Nation' [View all]
New York TimesWeve made no bones about we want to attract some new fans and new teams, and that starts with the car, said John Probst, NASCARs senior vice president for racing innovation.
But to attract that young, diverse audience, NASCAR must reckon with its past. Its an open question how much a car can do to assuage a troubling history of discrimination. NASCAR is doing some things, but they need to do more, said Bill Lester, who in 1999 became one of the few African-American drivers in NASCAR, and said he was still uncomfortable at some tracks: At Talladega? Shoot. At Martinsville, Virginia? I was sweating.
The league is in a difficult position. Its economic clout grew out of its appeal to white working-class fans. For decades, it fostered an outlaw image true to its roots of good ol boy moonshiners outrunning the law in hopped-up coupes. By the 1990s, the largely white, right-leaning audience became an economic and political force known as NASCAR Nation, valued as the most brand-loyal consumers in sports. But fans warmly nostalgic for Old Dixie are aging out. The young, diverse spectators whom sponsors now want dont get misty-eyed at the raising of the Confederate flag, which the league banned last year.
NASCARs challenge is to appeal to a new audience without alienating an old one, even as it seeks to distance itself from some of what that old audience held dear. The leagues strategy is all rolled up into Next Gen to pay homage to the past and outrun it at the same time. Honoring the past, it looks like a stock vehicle to put the stock back in stockcar, as NASCAR likes to say. Anticipating for the future, it can be converted to electric power.
Billions ride on the plan. NASCAR is due to enter negotiations for its broadcast rights, which previously brought an estimated $8 billion over 10 years. Delivering diverse viewers becomes a multibillion-dollar marketing imperative.
But to attract that young, diverse audience, NASCAR must reckon with its past. Its an open question how much a car can do to assuage a troubling history of discrimination. NASCAR is doing some things, but they need to do more, said Bill Lester, who in 1999 became one of the few African-American drivers in NASCAR, and said he was still uncomfortable at some tracks: At Talladega? Shoot. At Martinsville, Virginia? I was sweating.
The league is in a difficult position. Its economic clout grew out of its appeal to white working-class fans. For decades, it fostered an outlaw image true to its roots of good ol boy moonshiners outrunning the law in hopped-up coupes. By the 1990s, the largely white, right-leaning audience became an economic and political force known as NASCAR Nation, valued as the most brand-loyal consumers in sports. But fans warmly nostalgic for Old Dixie are aging out. The young, diverse spectators whom sponsors now want dont get misty-eyed at the raising of the Confederate flag, which the league banned last year.
NASCARs challenge is to appeal to a new audience without alienating an old one, even as it seeks to distance itself from some of what that old audience held dear. The leagues strategy is all rolled up into Next Gen to pay homage to the past and outrun it at the same time. Honoring the past, it looks like a stock vehicle to put the stock back in stockcar, as NASCAR likes to say. Anticipating for the future, it can be converted to electric power.
Billions ride on the plan. NASCAR is due to enter negotiations for its broadcast rights, which previously brought an estimated $8 billion over 10 years. Delivering diverse viewers becomes a multibillion-dollar marketing imperative.
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They can ban confederate flags at NASCAR races, but you will still likely sit next to rubes.
Hoyt
Oct 2021
#2
They lost me when some Bush voters were called "Nascar dads". I couldn't have anyone thinking
brewens
Oct 2021
#3
I watch Formula 1 racing, as I have no interest in that roundy-rounder stuff.
Brother Mythos
Oct 2021
#17
Wasn't it the F1 race at Belgium when they drove a few laps behind a pace car under caution in rain?
MichMan
Oct 2021
#18
At least it wasn't an incredibly boring circle track, and they actually drove in the rain.
Brother Mythos
Oct 2021
#19
Obviously my use of the term 'redneck' has touched a nerve with you. So, ...
Brother Mythos
Oct 2021
#24
You are the one with the touched nerve, I merely pointed out that not all NASCAR fans are rednecks.
Eliot Rosewater
Oct 2021
#25