Nascar has a different fan base than other forms of racing. The typical Nascar fan does not actually participate in racing. They just root for their driver/ brand of car. Of course, they also buy the hats, shirts, pants, jackets, photos, key chains, jewelry, sunglasses, belts, pens, billfolds, purses, jock straps, condoms, thongs(yes thongs), license plates, model cars, lamps, furniture, bedspreads, fishing rods(ever seen a Dale Sr. fishing pole?), etc. That's where the real money is in Nascar. I know I got carried away but some of these folks spend more per year on that stuff than our annual racing budget.
The name Mopar Performance is geared to the participating fan. So, that's where you see MP in drag racing and UDTRA(dirt late model). World of Outlaws is sort of a hybred, a lot of their fans are just pure fans, but many are participants in some form of racing as well.
Then there is the money. The budget for a(just one) Winston Cup team is in the $15 million range. I suspect Mopar Performance doesn't spend anywhere close to that for their sponsorship in all forms of racing. I know the Nascar Craftsman Truck(Mopar Performance) sponsorship is worth $1.6 million, WOO about $1 million, NHRA less than that, others (UDTRA) much less than that, etc. The Dodge Dealers Association committed in excess of $100 million to the initial entry into Nascar Winston Cup.
Don't know if that is the real reason-sounds logical to me!
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05-26-2002, 11:24 PM
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