NASCAR Concerns

We see a lot on TV and in print about an apparent concern on the part of NASCAR regarding a decline in TV viewer ratings, and flagging enthusiasm on the part of long time fans. I can offer reasonable explanations for both concerns, but that’s not the big issue. It seems to me that the big issue is losing long time series sponsors.

Only a few of us old timers remember when the Winston Cup series was the Grand National Series. Winston was there for so long that the name almost became synonymous with NASCAR. Then they quit and there was the change to Nextel / Sprint.

Busch backed out of the number 2 series sponsorship this year and next year it will be called the Nationwide series. Now we read that Craftsman is bailing out of the truck series sponsorship after next year. What is going on?

There might be readily available explanations for each change, and maybe there is no cause for concern, but it troubles me when long term sponsors all bail within a short time frame. Money is usually the underlying cause for corporate decisions like this, so what is making the deep pocket guys bail on what has to be one of the biggest marketing and name exposure opportunities in the country?

Let’s see how long the “new guys” last. Does this trend bother anyone else? I am interested in hearing your perspective.