Alex Meshkin

It is not possible to predict the road NASCAR will travel by the time we reach the final 2019 checkered flag, but it will be entertaining to speculate.

This decade begins as NASCAR tail spins in the wrong direction it’s a sharp contrast to the beginning of the last decade when NASCAR viewership, attendance and corporate interest were all surging. Today, all of those trends are in reverse, and this decade will truly define whether NASCAR remains as a mainstream sport or becomes another fledgling motorsport series.

I believe the major stories and events that will affect NASCAR in the coming years will have little or nothing to do with on track racing. So let me begin with a few predictions before we take our first green flag of 2010.

Two brands and two industries synonymous with NASCAR – Coors Light (Coors Brewing) and Texaco Havoline (Chevron) have in subsequent years cut ties with Chip Ganassi Racing and ultimately vacated NASCAR team sponsorship. The association and sponsorship of these two industries – Beer and Gasoline/Oil companies with NASCAR have by far the greatest value proposition; and yet they are leaving NASCAR? What is going on here? Even for someone like me who has been writing about the difficult NASCAR sponsorship market is surprised and concerned with Texaco pulling the plug on its storied NASCAR sponsorship program.

What is the root cause of these two prominent and long-term sponsors leaving NASCAR? The answer is simple: there are too many compelling alternatives which have a greater ROI and offer far less risk. Let’s be honest, primary sponsors are asked to commit up to $25 Million to purchase “so called advertising” without any meaningful guaranties of consumer advertising impressions. Sounds rather ominous, right?

Of course, sponsoring Dale Earnhardt Jr. and any of the other top performing drivers offers a unique value proposition: residue value through their brand loyal fans, merchandise and alike. But the vast majority of sponsors are receiving a diminishing ROI by virtue of the rising costs of NASCAR sponsorship and decreased television viewership and race attendance. Since 2004, the cost of becoming a primary sponsor of a top performing Sprint Cup team has soared by over 60% while television ratings have dropped by about 10%. The dichotomy of rising sponsorship costs and decreased television exposure is a disturbing trend which is primarily affecting the worst performing teams but could soon start to challenge the most elite NASCAR teams. The change in corporate sponsors’ attitudes towards NASCAR sponsorship shouldn’t surprise anyone.

However, NASCAR and its Teams have either refused or do not understand how to evolve in the digital age where advertisers can purchase measureable and interactive advertising with far less risk and much greater ROI. Unlike, most “traditional” businesses that reinvent themselves and innovate; NASCAR has failed to bring forth any meaningful innovations that can directly increase sponsors’ exposure and ROI.

Chip Ganassi Racing has had and continues to be one of the best performing open-wheel racing teams; and clearly delivers on and off the track performance for Target in the IndyCar Series. But unfortunately, Chip Ganassi’s foray into NASCAR has been a bitter disappointment. In 2006, Chip Ganassi secured Juan Pablo Montoya to pilot the #42 Texaco Dodge in the Sprint Cup series and hoped the media attention of the former IndyCar and Indy 500 Champion would ignite the performance and success of his NASCAR team. But excluding a few promising races (mostly on road courses) Montoya’s NASCAR career has underperformed. It appears Chip Ganassi Racing may be another victim of the sponsorship race; and soon join NASCAR’s elite defunct team list.

Has anyone noticed the decreased television advertising from Anheuser-Bush, Miller and Coors during NASCAR Sprint Cup race telecasts? Following the split of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Budweiser and Dale Earnhardt Inc.; Anheuser-Bush has apparently rapidly diminished their dominate presence over our weekly telecasts. In my opinion, this is the procuring cause to Miller and Coors’ also reducing their media placements during NASCAR broadcasts. While I don’t have the numbers to backup my observations, nonetheless, I think the anecdotal evidence is enough to question the “Dale Jr” effect on the return-on-investment (ROI) of the NASCAR television contract for Fox, NBC, TNT and ABC/ESPN.

So I question, is their enough of a demand to offset the loss of beer ads? If so, I certainly would be surprised if that demand will withstand the current economic pressure. But for sure, no one expected the self-interested actions of Teresa Earnhardt to have such a negative impact and affect so many other parts of the NASCAR food chain. It seems apparent that you can add the broadcasters to the list of people and companies that are keeping their distance from Teresa Earnhardt.

The U.S. Navy will not return next year as sponsor of the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and driven by Brad Keselowski.

“We were informed last week that our sponsorship with the U.S. Navy will not renew at the end of the year,” said Mike Davis, director of communications for JR Motorsports. “It has been an exceptional partnership since 2005, and we look forward to a strong finish to the season.”

Brad Keselowski is currently second in the Nationwide Series champion standings and won at Nashville earlier this year. This announcement is another huge blow to the fledging Nationwide Series, which has also seen icons like Richard Childress Racing (RCR) – unable to retain their Nationwide Series sponsors. NASCAR continues to face tremendous obstacles – and yet, nothing is being done to help support the teams’ survival. Instead, NASCAR continues to implement “rules”, which are contrary to the best interests of the teams and the sport in general.
With growing financial uncertainty – NASCAR and teams should also fear – that the automotive manufacturers may begin pulling their financial support from the Nationwide series – this again, is another example of NASCAR putting their heads in the sand until reality comes knocking at the door.
One must believe – - if Dale Jr. is having a difficult time finding and retaining Nationwide sponsors -this series may face further set of debilitating setbacks.

NASCAR officials have notified team owners in the Nationwide Series that they will delay the introduction of the Car of Tomorrow (COT) in the Nationwide Series by at least one year. According to Ramsey Poston, Managing Director of Communications at NASCAR, the reason for the change is because “testing and development” is still needed before the car is approved for competition.
While that does sound very nice and tidy, the real reason is far more ominous – and the decision was based upon the economic impact on the independent teams in the Nationwide Series. The introduction of the COT would require teams to replace their entire fleet of race cars and it would be financially inconceivable and ultimately would devastate the Nationwide Series in 2009.
Back in May, I wrote an article Car of Tomorrow (COT) – Friend or Foe for the Nationwide Series; where I foretold of the impending disaster of the COT for the Nationwide Series and quoted Dale Earnhardt Jr. about his race team’s future plans and the viability of the Nationwide Series with the COT:

And they’re going to bring a COT in and we won’t be able to race in the Nationwide Series with the COT probably. That’ll just be too expensive to switch all that over. …And the COT program is going to be too expensive for me to justify creating a whole new program with COT stuff, so I’d just as soon go into the Cup Series or get out of the Nationwide Series altogether.

An official announcement is expected from NASCAR in two weeks.

Dale Jr. had a victorious day in the LifeLock 400 at Michigan International Speedway – and ended an endless streak of 76 races. A win could not have come on a better day – Father’s Day. Earnhardt’s much anticipated first win of 2008 was achieved through a brilliant combination of strategy from cousin and crew chief Tony Eury Jr. and smooth driving by Jr. Ironically, Dale Jr. entered today’s race with a winless streak matching his father’s career number of victories – 76. There are numerous ironies. And yet, one can only imagine the thoughts Dale Jr. must have had as he made his way across the finish line– was Dad once again sitting beside him. I am sure there are two happy Dale Earnhardt’s today.

Congratulations to Dale Earnhardt Jr., the Earnhardt Family and Hendrick Motorsports.

Earlier this week, Dale Earnhardt Jr. provided a candid team owner’s perspective of the forthcoming change to the Car of Tomorrow (COT) in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. When asked about his future Sprint Cup plans with JR Motorsports, he said:

“I used to say no way, no way. But it’s almost as expensive to run in the Nationwide Series. And they’re going to bring a COT in and we won’t be able to race in the Nationwide Series with the COT probably. That’ll just be too expensive to switch all that over.”

“…And the COT program is going to be too expensive for me to justify creating a whole new program with COT stuff, so I’d just as soon go into the Cup Series or get out of the Nationwide Series altogether.”

Dale Jr.’s statements raise an alarming concern on the viability of the Nationwide Series. Let’s be honest – if the Nationwide Series business model doesn’t work for JR/Hendrick Motorsports – why then, would anyone think it would work for someone else? I have a hard time envisioning any other team being able to justify the capital expenditure required to compete in the NASCAR Nationwide Series with the COT. The pending arrival of the COT to the Nationwide Series couldn’t be at a worst economic time. Even teams such as Richard Childress Racing (RCR) are struggling to find new sponsors; and in retrospect, recently announced that the former Championship #21 team would be reducing its schedule in 2008 for the Nationwide Series due to a lack of sponsorship.

It’s undisputed that the COT provides enhanced safety for the drivers – which are undeniably priceless. However, compensation for improved safety should be at the forefront of NASCAR’s economic model and NASCAR should provide assistance for the teams’ through financial allowances to ensure that drivers and crew members are safe; while at the same time, enabling team owners’ to survive. It’s unfortunate that team owners must bear 100% of the financial burden of safety while NASCAR corporate continues to retain the vast majority of revenues and profits – continuing to drain many of the teams’ livelihoods – and perhaps even to the sport’s future longevity.

If I was still an owner of my NASCAR team (Bang! Racing), I would organize the Nationwide Series Team Owners to take a stand and demand financial assistance from NASCAR to adopt the COT in 2009. If Dale Jr. can’t afford to- who in the world can?

Last year, undoubtedly was the most dramatic year for racing fans in NASCAR Silly Season history with Dale Jr. moving from Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI) to Hendrick Motorsports. But this year may prove to be the most crucial for team owners, as sponsors and drivers play musical chairs as they navigate through the myriad of sponsor changes. With the enhanced expectations of corporate sponsors, drivers must be careful to choose the right team for 2009 and the future. Just look at DEI, Michael Waltrip Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing, Hass CNC Racing, Richard Petty Enterprises and Yates Racing – all are in dire need of sponsorship. And yet, you must give credit where credit is due – Travis Kvapil (my former driver at Bang! Racing) is doing an exceptional job for Yates Racing – but honestly, I don’t believe that sponsors are lined up at Yates door.

Every year, there is always one driver who defines all of Silly Season and in 2008 – that man is Tony Stewart. But to be realistic – you must believe that most, if not all sponsors considering a change (or any potential new sponsors – are there any?) will wait until Stewart makes up his mind before finalizing their 2009 plans.

It is well known that Stewart wants back into the Chevy camp where he has won two NASCAR Sprint Cup Championships and over 30 races. So that leaves Stewart with only two legitimate options – Hendrick Motorsports or Richard Childress Racing (RCR). Yes, RCR has won more races than Hendrick in 2008 but I would be shocked to see Stewart join RCR and race the Cheerios car. But on the other hand, Hendrick already has four drivers – didn’t they say they had “no room at the inn” last year before signing Dale Jr.? Could Casey Mears be moved to a satellite team like Hass CNC? Let’s just imagine – Dale Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart all as teammates?

Only time will tell where Tony Stewart lands in 2009 – but the drivers better be ready to grab a seat because once Stewart decides on his plans – it will be pretty easy to be left without a seat once the music stops in the high stakes game of NASCAR Silly Season 2008.

10 years ago, if I told a NASCAR fan that Robert Yates Racing would lose all of their sponsors and be on the verge of going out of business and becoming another “defunct” team, every single fan would have said “you must be out of your mind.”

But fast forward to 2008 and so called “super teams” – Yates Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing, Bill Davis Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc. all have primary sponsor vacancies and may shutter one or more of their teams. Some may ask “How did this happen?” You will hear many say the principle cause is the rising costs of drivers, personnel and other expenses. And YES, while these are all contributing factors; the fundamental flaw of a NASCAR sponsorship program is the inability to measure the performance and success of the program. While NASCAR has always positioned itself as a branding vehicle; in 2008 branding is only achieved through customer acquisition; and NASCAR sponsorship does not provide an effective means to measure its performance.

With the rapid growth of online advertising opportunities and pay-for-performance models, why would one invest a large portion of their marketing budget into a non-quantifiable advertising campaign? If motorsports’ agencies and teams cannot provide an answer to this daunting question – NASCAR fans will be more disappointed as more and more teams become sponsorless and face the inevitable loss of their favorite teams.    

When a potential corporate sponsor investigates a NASCAR sponsorship opportunity, the chief value proposition that is touted – is the high brand loyalty that sponsors’ receive. This approach is not only out-dated but the  value proposition is severely overrated.  As many know, I grew up as a die-hard Dale Earnhardt Sr. fan and subsequently, in recent years have cheered for Dale Jr. But do I drink AMP, Mountain Dew or any other Pepsi product? Ah No. Do I drive a Chevrolet? No. Clearly, brand loyalty is not enough to justify $20 Million dollars to sponsor a Sprint Cup team.

NASCAR teams, unlike Formula 1, completely rely on advertising revenue to fund their operations – and the option of reducing operating expenses is just not realistic. Consequently, unless NASCAR decides to “share the wealth” and allocate a larger percentage of television revenue to their racing teams, those teams MUST reinvent their marketing approach to survive.  But it’s not doomsday for everyone in the sport – Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing and Roush Fenway Racing are on top of the racing world – with world-class drivers and premiere equipment – to drive their considerable sponsorship demand. But where does that leave, lesser know drivers and less significant teams, and perhaps even future teams?

As the youngest NASCAR team owner in history and with the best track record for any first year team, I scored Toyota’s first two NASCAR victories and know what it takes to perform on the race track and in the corporate board room. I personally pioneered the development of online loyalty and incentive programs in NASCAR and leveraged internet marketing strategies to secure companies such as, eBay to sponsor Bang! Racing. But without an integrated approach whereby teams can leverage the NASCAR brand, innovative business models will not prosper and teams will continue to fail at an alarming pace.

I implore NASCAR, its team owners and motorsports agencies to collaborate to develop and implement a better approach and solution before the majority of teams become bankrupt and are forced to be remembered as simply “defunct.”

By: Alex Meshkin, former owner of Bang Racing

By Gary Graves, USA TODAY

Rarely has a NASCAR entrance generated as much buzz as Toyota’s announcement that it would enter its Tundra model in the Craftsman Truck Series this season.

		Mike Skinner, who”ll drive a Tundra, says the engine needs work, but “I’d be very surprised if it weren’t competitive within four or five months.”
		By Tim Dillon, USA TODA

The din has only slightly abated as some fans appear willing to welcome the Japanese carmaker to the heretofore-American sport. But keepers of the flame fear another Yankee stronghold is slipping away to a foreign interloper. Just recently, Nextel Cup and sometime Craftsman driver Jimmy Spencer broke off a xenophobic rant that NASCAR declined to discipline.

But Spencer’s comments seemed to express the sentiment of some, whom at the very least wonder if this is Toyota’s first step on the way to Nextel Cup. The company, which builds the trucks in Tennessee and Indiana, won’t comment.

Time will tell whether it comes true. For now Toyota will settle for being able to hang with American brands Ford, Dodge and Chevy.

Preseason testing revealed a horsepower deficit and other issues, but most expect the dependable Tundra to close the gap by season’s end, setting the stage for more suspense in NASCAR’s most competitive series.

“It’s stable,” said 1995 series champion Mike Skinner, who will team with reigning champion Travis Kvapil as part of Toyota’s four-team, seven-truck contingent. “We’re behind the gun a little bit, but I think we’re off to a great start. They’ve just got to make the engine better. I’d be very surprised if it weren’t competitive within four or five months.”

If signing Kvapil was intended to help give Toyota track credibility, adding irascible Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds provides experience as well as comic relief. Waltrip, the three-time Cup champion, and McReynolds, the late Dale Earnhardt’s longtime crew chief, are best known for their repartee as Fox TV analysts.

They will be respectively known as team owner and management. Waltrip will drive in three Craftsman races this season but will mostly oversee David Reutimann’s progress in Darrell Waltrip Racing’s No. 17 Tundra.

McReynolds will supervise Kvapil and Skinner as Bang! Racing’s vice president, a prospect he didn’t consider until examining Toyota’s business plan last year. That erased his reservations, but he quickly discovered that not everybody was so open-minded.

“It’s disappointing to me, this old-school thinking,” McReynolds said. “I’ve been called a traitor and a lot of other things I can’t repeat. But I’d bet that those who are against Toyota coming into NASCAR probably have Mitsubishi and Sony TVs and a lot of other foreign things in their homes.

“If you had come to me five years ago and told me Toyota would be in NASCAR. … I’m more enlightened now. It’s very American-oriented.”

In addition to Bang! and Waltrip, Bill Davis Racing will field a two-truck effort with Bill Lester and Shelby Howard. Innovative Motorsports will enter Robert Huffman and Hank Parker Jr.

Toyota will be the primary sponsor for Kvapil, Huffman and Lester.

If Kvapil thought it was tough rallying from third to win the closest-ever points race last season, consider what he’ll face as the man to beat. There’s the matter of Ted Musgrave, who finished 18 points back in third after officials black-flagged his final-restart pass for the lead at the Homestead finale. He immediately vowed to be more, er, daring, this season.

As if that isn’t enough to deal with, there’s runner-up Dennis Setzer (nine points back), fifth-place Jon Wood and seventh-place Rick Crawford, whose three-wide victory at Daytona last year set the tone for the season. Former Cup regular Steve Park joins Orleand Racing, and 2002 truck champion Jack Sprague is racing for Xpress Motorsports.

That makes the points race too hard for even drivers to handicap.

“With Toyota in, it has to be stronger,” Crawford said. “It has stepped everybody up to the plate. Toyota didn’t come into NASCAR just to play around and be a number in the finishing order; they’re coming in to win. Look at what they’ve done in other forms of racing. I’m sure they’ll make the same impact in NASCAR.”

That confidence sustains Kvapil as he gets used to a new truck and his third team in as many seasons. Last season’s jump from third to series champion in the finale taught him that things somehow fall into place, minimizing his initial concerns about Toyota. He also believes Toyota eventually will silence debate over its place, which might be the biggest victory.

“We’ve blown a few engines in testing, but that was to be expected,” said Kvapil, who set a series record by completing all but one half-mile lap last season. “Toyota is building engines to be there at the end. They’re fine-tuning some things, so there are definitely some question marks. But we’ll be there.”

Also competing are Tina Gordon, the series’ only full-time female driver, and Kelly Sutton. Gordon will drive the No. 13 Chevy, while rookie Sutton, a former Dash series driver, will guide the No. 02 Chevy.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/nascar/2004-02-12-bonus-toyota_x.htm