You might need to register at TheStar.com to see this story, so I posted the body of the copy below.
Russ Bond took time away from mastering the new GT4 game to write a story for today's Wheels section about an affordable way to bring the racing experience into your own living room... if your better half will let you.
TheStar.com - A must-have if you're serious
A must-have if you're serious
Simulators add to game experience Spend $28,000, or make it for $60
RUSS BOND // SPECIAL TO THE STAR
The other day, I raced Dale Earnhardt Jr. and 41 of his closest friends the full race distance at the Daytona 500 — taking about four hours — in the comfort of my living room, in front of my television.
I was gaming, but not just using your standard computer or video game system. To be a serious video gamer, you need serious equipment — just like real racing.
Lifelike racing simulators are a fast-growing must-have for any serious gamer and they are essential to getting the most out of any racing game.
We've all seen the arcade versions, but what is available for home use? With the new, long-awaited Gran Turismo 4 released this week, this is the time to get hooked up with a realistic racing simulator.
The top-of-the-line in personal simulators is clearly the replica F1 car from SiMiS (http://www.f1 sim is.com), which is rightly billed as the ultimate entertainment package.
Starting at about $28,000, the full-sized Formula One replicas have a computer where the engine would be. SiMiS is based at Silverstone in England (it doesn't get more F1 than that) and the cars are adaptable to meet any gamer's needs. The simulators can be outfitted with a PC, Xbox or PS2.
The cars look amazingly real and can be outfitted with any graphics package you can come up with. They have real F1 wheels and tires, and just like a real F1, SiMiS tailors the seating position with seat inserts to fit any size driver. If you want the ultimate game room accessory, this is clearly it.
For those who don't have a spare $28,000, there is a less-expensive line of simulators from Australian company Hyperstimulator.com. The top of the line is the Extreme, which sells for $5,397. Other models include the Proto GP ($3,103) and the Clubman kit ($600 to $1,600). These personal simulators feature a leather wheel, stainless steel gear paddles, sequential shifter, programmable buttons, carbon fibre dash and drilled pedals.
My favourite option for the Extreme is the $92 drink bottle, complete with tube of course, for those really long races.
Another option for serious gamers is to build your very own simulator tub.
It is not as difficult as you may think. I have built several and it probably is the most economical way of doing things.
Most gamers already have the wheel and pedal assemblies, so all you need is a trip to the hardware store for about $60 worth of wood and screws, followed by a stop at the local junkyard for a car seat.
Three hours of cutting and screwing later and you're all set to go racing.
Whatever option you choose, there is no doubt a good driving simulator will enhance any gaming experience, no matter what your budget.
There is one warning you should take note of from the http://hyperstimcanada.com site: "We accept no responsibility for broken relationships, divorces, missed appointments and lost time due to the use of the Hyper Stimulator. We only accept responsibility if you are having fun."
Now all I need is a crew chief simulator who can advise me whether to swap two tires or four in the pits at Daytona.
Hey, I only need a half a second.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
r.bond@russbondagency.com
Saturday, February 26, 2005
Friday, February 25, 2005
OSCAAR: Biederman race set for Peterborough in '05
INSIDE TRACK EXCLUSIVE:
PETERBOROUGH, ON - Peterborough Speedway promoter J.P. Josiasse just stopped by the office with some exciting news for his track. According to Josiasse, he has an agreement with OSCAAR to host the 2005 edition of OSCAAR's Don Biederman Memorial race on the Saturday of the Labour Day Weekend (Sept. 3).
Last year, OSCAAR's version of the Biederman Memorial was held at Kawartha Speedway, after several years of being run at Flamboro Speedway. There was talk, at the time, that the race would move from track-to-track to give fans in different areas a chance to see the Biederman Memorial.
Josiasse said that promotion for the event will be done in conjunction with OSCAAR, and that efforts to build momentum for the event will start as soon as the Performance World Show, in March.
"Peterborough Speedway is the traditional home of the Super Late Models," said Josiasse. "So it's only right that a race of this size be held at Peterborough."
In addition to an OSCAAR SLM race at Peterborough in July, and the Biederman race on Labour Day, the OSCAAR tour will once again appear at Peterborough's Autumn Colours Classic.
"The Kawartha OSCAAR race attracted 26 Super Lates last year and we're thinking that we might get 28-30 if we promote it as a big race all summer," concluded Josiasse.
PETERBOROUGH, ON - Peterborough Speedway promoter J.P. Josiasse just stopped by the office with some exciting news for his track. According to Josiasse, he has an agreement with OSCAAR to host the 2005 edition of OSCAAR's Don Biederman Memorial race on the Saturday of the Labour Day Weekend (Sept. 3).
Last year, OSCAAR's version of the Biederman Memorial was held at Kawartha Speedway, after several years of being run at Flamboro Speedway. There was talk, at the time, that the race would move from track-to-track to give fans in different areas a chance to see the Biederman Memorial.
Josiasse said that promotion for the event will be done in conjunction with OSCAAR, and that efforts to build momentum for the event will start as soon as the Performance World Show, in March.
"Peterborough Speedway is the traditional home of the Super Late Models," said Josiasse. "So it's only right that a race of this size be held at Peterborough."
In addition to an OSCAAR SLM race at Peterborough in July, and the Biederman race on Labour Day, the OSCAAR tour will once again appear at Peterborough's Autumn Colours Classic.
"The Kawartha OSCAAR race attracted 26 Super Lates last year and we're thinking that we might get 28-30 if we promote it as a big race all summer," concluded Josiasse.
SPEED WORLD CHALLENGE: Jon Groom Racing signs Penfold
NEW JERSEY – After securing a two year, two-car deal with the team s primary sponsor Axa Financial, Inc., Jon Groom Racing has signed young Canadian driver Alex Penfold to drive the third Axa/Pfaff Porsche in his first Speed World Challenge event at Sebring March 15-18th, 2005.
Alex will drive the third car alongside Robin Liddell and team owner, Jon Groom.
"We re very happy to have Alex on board for his debut in World Challenge GT racing and in a Porsche. We recently did an extended test with Alex and he proved to be quick, consistent and very grounded for a 19 year old. He got on very well with the team and should have a great future in sportscar racing."
Doug Spranger, Team Manager added, "We’re hoping that Alex will continue for the balance of the season as he s well-liked by the team, has a willingness to learn and, most importantly, early testing has shown him to be surprisingly quick and consistent".
Alex will be one of two 19 year olds entered in the GT field of the Speed World Challenge, but has had much racing success already given his young age.
Alex started kart racing in 1999 and by 2001 he was winning races, eventually earning the OKRA Championship "Senior Rookie of the Year" award, followed by 3rd overall in the Sunoco Ron Fellows OKRA Championship in 2002.
Alex ran selected shifter kart races in 2003 winning the Stars of Tomorrow Windsor Grand Prix by a clear 14 second margin before graduating to the Honda Michelin Challenge Series in 2004, where he had a pole, two wins and two podiums. A performance that earned him the Rookie of the Year title and 6th place overall.
"I’m really excited about this opportunity to drive one of the Jon Groom Racing 911 Porsches in what is one of the most exciting series around. I’d like to thank my Manager for his support in getting me here, and also Chris Pfaff who has helped me to this point in my career and is also a sponsor of the team. I know I have a lot to learn, but I can t wait to get started in March. Hopefully, I’ll be able to do the rest of the season and fight for Rookie-of-the-Year" said Alex.
For more information about the Speed World Challenge Series, visit www.world-challenge.com or www.jongroomracing.com
Alex will drive the third car alongside Robin Liddell and team owner, Jon Groom.
"We re very happy to have Alex on board for his debut in World Challenge GT racing and in a Porsche. We recently did an extended test with Alex and he proved to be quick, consistent and very grounded for a 19 year old. He got on very well with the team and should have a great future in sportscar racing."
Doug Spranger, Team Manager added, "We’re hoping that Alex will continue for the balance of the season as he s well-liked by the team, has a willingness to learn and, most importantly, early testing has shown him to be surprisingly quick and consistent".
Alex will be one of two 19 year olds entered in the GT field of the Speed World Challenge, but has had much racing success already given his young age.
Alex started kart racing in 1999 and by 2001 he was winning races, eventually earning the OKRA Championship "Senior Rookie of the Year" award, followed by 3rd overall in the Sunoco Ron Fellows OKRA Championship in 2002.
Alex ran selected shifter kart races in 2003 winning the Stars of Tomorrow Windsor Grand Prix by a clear 14 second margin before graduating to the Honda Michelin Challenge Series in 2004, where he had a pole, two wins and two podiums. A performance that earned him the Rookie of the Year title and 6th place overall.
"I’m really excited about this opportunity to drive one of the Jon Groom Racing 911 Porsches in what is one of the most exciting series around. I’d like to thank my Manager for his support in getting me here, and also Chris Pfaff who has helped me to this point in my career and is also a sponsor of the team. I know I have a lot to learn, but I can t wait to get started in March. Hopefully, I’ll be able to do the rest of the season and fight for Rookie-of-the-Year" said Alex.
For more information about the Speed World Challenge Series, visit www.world-challenge.com or www.jongroomracing.com
CONTEST: What can you Hemi?
That Thing Got a HEMI®? … It Could Soon!
Go to: www.WhatCanYouHemi.com and you could win a HEMI-powered Chrysler, Jeep or Dodge vehicle of your choice!
WINDSOR, ON. – Since the rebirth of the HEMI® engine, HEMI has become a brand within a brand, taking the hottest new Chrysler, Jeep® and Dodge vehicles to a new level in power and technology. "That Thing Got a HEMI" has become a household phrase serving as a constant reminder that anything with a HEMI is truly top notch.
In celebration of the legendary HEMI engine, Chrysler Group launches the "What Can You HEMI?" contest today asking Canadian and American consumers the question: If you could infuse the power and torque of the 5.7-litre V-8 HEMI engine into anything, what would it be?
Chrysler Group is encouraging consumers to imagine the possibilities of HEMI power. Anyone up for the challenge is required to submit their HEMI-powered invention in a brief essay (300 words or less) and to support the idea with a sketch.
A panel of Chrysler Group judges will select five semi-finalists based on creativity, engineering feasibility, safety and functionality. The five semi-finalists will see their HEMI-powered idea brought to life and will win a trip for two to take part in the official unveiling of these creations.
One of the five final HEMI-powered inventions will be named the grand prize winner and its inventor will drive home in a HEMI-powered Chrysler, Jeep or Dodge vehicle of their choice.
"Our hottest new vehicles are powered by HEMI engines including the country's first production high-volume Multi-Displacement System (MDS)," said Joe Eberhardt, Executive Vice President, Global Sales, Marketing and Service, Chrysler Group. "This contest is about extending the same power, torque and technology to make the ordinary, extra-ordinary and to have a lot of fun while we're at it."
Contest entries must be postmarked by April 6 and received by April 13, 2005 and should be mailed to:
"What Can You HEMI" Contest
P.O. Box 6761
Stacy, MN 55078-6761
More contest information is available at www.WhatCanYouHemi.com
The HEMI engine was first made popular in 1951 when Chrysler Corporation introduced its entry in the post-war horsepower race. Its power and efficiency made it an instant favourite for all sorts of motorsports vehicles.
Although reluctantly retired in 1959 due to high manufacturing cost, the HEMI design was still unsurpassed. In 1964, NASCAR competition sparked the HEMI's return, and it has remained available for motorsport use ever since. Today, the 5.7-litre HEMI V-8 engine, a modern high-performance, fuel-efficient and durable powerplant, is available on Chrysler 300C, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Dodge Ram Pickup, Dodge Durango, Dodge Magnum and later this year, Dodge Charger. On vehicles offering the HEMI engine, the take-rate in Canada is 42 percent.
The 2005 Chrysler 300C was the first modern volume production vehicle in North America to feature cylinder deactivation. Chrysler Group’s Multi-Displacement System (MDS) is a technology that seamlessly turns off the fuel consumption in four cylinders of the 5.7-litre HEMI engine when V-8 power is not needed, improving fuel economy up to 20 percent. MDS is also standard on Dodge Magnum and Jeep Grand Cherokee, equipped with a HEMI engine.
Additional information and news from DaimlerChrysler is available on the Internet at: www.media.daimlerchrysler.ca
Go to: www.WhatCanYouHemi.com and you could win a HEMI-powered Chrysler, Jeep or Dodge vehicle of your choice!
WINDSOR, ON. – Since the rebirth of the HEMI® engine, HEMI has become a brand within a brand, taking the hottest new Chrysler, Jeep® and Dodge vehicles to a new level in power and technology. "That Thing Got a HEMI" has become a household phrase serving as a constant reminder that anything with a HEMI is truly top notch.
In celebration of the legendary HEMI engine, Chrysler Group launches the "What Can You HEMI?" contest today asking Canadian and American consumers the question: If you could infuse the power and torque of the 5.7-litre V-8 HEMI engine into anything, what would it be?
Chrysler Group is encouraging consumers to imagine the possibilities of HEMI power. Anyone up for the challenge is required to submit their HEMI-powered invention in a brief essay (300 words or less) and to support the idea with a sketch.
A panel of Chrysler Group judges will select five semi-finalists based on creativity, engineering feasibility, safety and functionality. The five semi-finalists will see their HEMI-powered idea brought to life and will win a trip for two to take part in the official unveiling of these creations.
One of the five final HEMI-powered inventions will be named the grand prize winner and its inventor will drive home in a HEMI-powered Chrysler, Jeep or Dodge vehicle of their choice.
"Our hottest new vehicles are powered by HEMI engines including the country's first production high-volume Multi-Displacement System (MDS)," said Joe Eberhardt, Executive Vice President, Global Sales, Marketing and Service, Chrysler Group. "This contest is about extending the same power, torque and technology to make the ordinary, extra-ordinary and to have a lot of fun while we're at it."
Contest entries must be postmarked by April 6 and received by April 13, 2005 and should be mailed to:
"What Can You HEMI" Contest
P.O. Box 6761
Stacy, MN 55078-6761
More contest information is available at www.WhatCanYouHemi.com
The HEMI engine was first made popular in 1951 when Chrysler Corporation introduced its entry in the post-war horsepower race. Its power and efficiency made it an instant favourite for all sorts of motorsports vehicles.
Although reluctantly retired in 1959 due to high manufacturing cost, the HEMI design was still unsurpassed. In 1964, NASCAR competition sparked the HEMI's return, and it has remained available for motorsport use ever since. Today, the 5.7-litre HEMI V-8 engine, a modern high-performance, fuel-efficient and durable powerplant, is available on Chrysler 300C, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Dodge Ram Pickup, Dodge Durango, Dodge Magnum and later this year, Dodge Charger. On vehicles offering the HEMI engine, the take-rate in Canada is 42 percent.
The 2005 Chrysler 300C was the first modern volume production vehicle in North America to feature cylinder deactivation. Chrysler Group’s Multi-Displacement System (MDS) is a technology that seamlessly turns off the fuel consumption in four cylinders of the 5.7-litre HEMI engine when V-8 power is not needed, improving fuel economy up to 20 percent. MDS is also standard on Dodge Magnum and Jeep Grand Cherokee, equipped with a HEMI engine.
Additional information and news from DaimlerChrysler is available on the Internet at: www.media.daimlerchrysler.ca
Thursday, February 24, 2005
KARTS: First Kart's Gustavo Yacaman heads to Italy
GUELPH, ON – Five-time Colombian national champion, Gustavo Yacaman, will head across the pond this year to compete in the Italian Open Masters Karting Championship with the First Kart factory team.
The 13-year-old will have a very busy schedule in ’05 as he will be competing in the Stars of Karting east and west championships with First Kart North America on non-conflicting weekends.
Yacaman, who competed with the FirstKart.com race team in ’04, claimed the 3rd place position in the overall Stars of Karting series championship. Though some tough early season results hurt his chances at the overall title, Yacaman showed his sheer determination and ‘don’t quit’ attitude to claim three feature victories and several podium results.
In 2005, the talented pilot has already secured three wins in the competitive Rotax Junior division at the Florida Winter Tour. With bold moves and unbelievable braking, Yacaman has impressed the North American karting community and helped the First Kart North America operation develop their 100cc arrive and drive package.
While overseas, Yacaman will utilize factory IAME Parilla power and will run for Gianni Bianchi of First Kart Italy. In North America, Yacaman will continue to run in the Junior ICA class for Tony Ventresca’s Firstkart.com race team. With support of Goodyear Race Tires, MAC Batteries, Renault and Pony Malta, Gustavo will be gunning for several series titles.
Yacaman will be on track March 24-27th at the challenging Lonato South Garda circuit in South Garda, Italy. Interested parties can track live results and point standings online at www.cikfia.com or stay tuned to www.firstkart.com for the young phenom’s race results and post-race press releases.
For more information on First Kart North America, product sales, the race team and exciting dealership opportunities including information on how to get into kart racing please contact Firstkart.com’s President Tony Ventresca at 519-824-4343 or visit them online at www.firstkart.com.
Autosports Media // Mike Maurini // P: 416-678-4939
autosportsmedia@earthlink.net
DRAGS: St. Thomas drivers' meeting
ST. THOMAS, ON - The 2005 St. Thomas Dragway Driver’s Meeting will be held Sunday, March 6, 2005 at 10 A.M. at the St. Thomas-Elgin Memorial Arena, 80 Wilson Ave., St. Thomas. Doors open at 9.30 A.M. for coffee and donuts.
Sherrie Barbour, Special Programs Manager for IHRA will be in attendance with a special offer regarding IHRA memberships. Details of the 2005 IHRA Summit Super Series will also be released. And, yes, it's an off weekend for NASCAR!!!!
DIRECTIONS -
From the West - Take Highway 4 exit 177 South off 401/402.
- Follow signs toward Port Stanley (Hwy 4)
- Turn left at Elm St. (top of hill at south end of St. Thomas)
- Go one block to lights and turn left (Wilson Ave.)
- Arena is one block on right.
From the East - Take Wellington Road Exit South off 401.
- Follow signs to Port Stanley (Hwy 4).
- Turn left at Elm St. (top of hill at south end of St. Thomas)
- Go one block to lights and turn left (Wilson Ave.)
- Arena is one block on right.
For further information, contact the track at 519-775-2263, FAX 519-775-2593 or visit the website at www.stthomasdragway.com.
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Sherrie Barbour, Special Programs Manager for IHRA will be in attendance with a special offer regarding IHRA memberships. Details of the 2005 IHRA Summit Super Series will also be released. And, yes, it's an off weekend for NASCAR!!!!
DIRECTIONS -
From the West - Take Highway 4 exit 177 South off 401/402.
- Follow signs toward Port Stanley (Hwy 4)
- Turn left at Elm St. (top of hill at south end of St. Thomas)
- Go one block to lights and turn left (Wilson Ave.)
- Arena is one block on right.
From the East - Take Wellington Road Exit South off 401.
- Follow signs to Port Stanley (Hwy 4).
- Turn left at Elm St. (top of hill at south end of St. Thomas)
- Go one block to lights and turn left (Wilson Ave.)
- Arena is one block on right.
For further information, contact the track at 519-775-2263, FAX 519-775-2593 or visit the website at www.stthomasdragway.com.
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Wednesday, February 23, 2005
GREAT SITE: Tiemersma Motorsports
NEWMARKET, ON - In addition to his work as Crew Chief of Tiemersma Motorsports, Mike Sutton also does an excellent job keeping us informed about the latest news and events surrounding the team.
This morning, Mike sent us a note letting us know that the site has been updated again and he's welcoming everyone to stop by the team's site to see how their preparations are coming along for the fast-approaching Shouldice ALSTAR Late Model Series season.
Visit the team online at:
Tiemersma Motorsports
This morning, Mike sent us a note letting us know that the site has been updated again and he's welcoming everyone to stop by the team's site to see how their preparations are coming along for the fast-approaching Shouldice ALSTAR Late Model Series season.
Visit the team online at:
Tiemersma Motorsports
DRAGS: PMRA To Compete At Skyview Drags
CAYUGA, ON - The Pro Modified Racing Association (PMRA) has announced the fifth and final stop for its inaugural 2005 season.
The newly-opened Skyview Drags track in South-Central New York will hold a PMRA race August 20. This event will be part of the PMRA’s New York swing, as the teams will race at Lancaster Motorsports Park near Buffalo August 19.
“We are excited about this new series coming to our track," said Skyview’s Special Events Director Mike Key. “We feel the PMRA has all the ingredients for a high-performance show.”
Opened only late in 2004, Skyview Drags, just outside of Tioga Center, NY, is an eighth-mile International Hot Rod Association-sanctioned facility. This year will mark the first full season of the new facility.
“We can’t wait to race on this new track,” said PMRA competitor Kasey Janzen of St. Catharines, ON. “And with Lancaster one day and Skyview the next day, the PMRA will offer the fans a great weekend of action.”
The Skyview date is the fifth and final confirmed appearance for the PMRA for 2005. Two races will be held at Toronto Motorsports Park May 20 - 22 and September 2 - 4. Luskville Dragway, just outside of Ottawa in Aylmer, Quebec, will be the scene of the July 1 -3 PMRA race. The Lancaster event will be August 19.
In its first year of operation, the PMRA will provide fans in Ontario, Quebec, and New York the opportunity to see and hear popular Pro Modified racing in the class known as “the world’s fastest doorslammers.”
The PMRA is a self-governing organization with its own set of technical and safety rules based on the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) Pro Modified division. Cars in the PMRA capture the true spirit of hot rodding, and the class offers a widely-diverse group of race cars with different types of 2000-horsepower engines propelling the cars down the quarter-mile in the 6.20-second range at 230 mph.
For more information contact Bruce F. Mehlenbacher mehlenbacher@nas.net
The newly-opened Skyview Drags track in South-Central New York will hold a PMRA race August 20. This event will be part of the PMRA’s New York swing, as the teams will race at Lancaster Motorsports Park near Buffalo August 19.
“We are excited about this new series coming to our track," said Skyview’s Special Events Director Mike Key. “We feel the PMRA has all the ingredients for a high-performance show.”
Opened only late in 2004, Skyview Drags, just outside of Tioga Center, NY, is an eighth-mile International Hot Rod Association-sanctioned facility. This year will mark the first full season of the new facility.
“We can’t wait to race on this new track,” said PMRA competitor Kasey Janzen of St. Catharines, ON. “And with Lancaster one day and Skyview the next day, the PMRA will offer the fans a great weekend of action.”
The Skyview date is the fifth and final confirmed appearance for the PMRA for 2005. Two races will be held at Toronto Motorsports Park May 20 - 22 and September 2 - 4. Luskville Dragway, just outside of Ottawa in Aylmer, Quebec, will be the scene of the July 1 -3 PMRA race. The Lancaster event will be August 19.
In its first year of operation, the PMRA will provide fans in Ontario, Quebec, and New York the opportunity to see and hear popular Pro Modified racing in the class known as “the world’s fastest doorslammers.”
The PMRA is a self-governing organization with its own set of technical and safety rules based on the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) Pro Modified division. Cars in the PMRA capture the true spirit of hot rodding, and the class offers a widely-diverse group of race cars with different types of 2000-horsepower engines propelling the cars down the quarter-mile in the 6.20-second range at 230 mph.
For more information contact Bruce F. Mehlenbacher mehlenbacher@nas.net
MERRITTVILLE: Spring Car Shows
THOROLD, ON - Merrittville Speedway and its race teams are preparing for a busy month of March with three Race Car Shows scheduled throughout Niagara to kick off the 2005 season at the DIRT-sanctioned Thorold speed plant.
The Spring Preview begins not too far from the speedway itself as the promotional team travels down Merrittville Highway and into the Seaway Mall in Welland. The show begins March 1st and runs until March 6th.
17-time L. St. Amand Enterprises 358 Modified Champion Pete Bicknell is set to unveil his 2005 Texaco Havoline-Merrittville Speedway sponsored # 42 – one of many built since last season at his Bicknell Racing Products Shop in St. Catharines.
Race fans and shoppers will get a view of Bicknell’s car that most people don’t see as there will be no body panels on the new racer.
The design and construction of all the steel tubing … suspension components … the engine and drive line … all the internal workings of a Dirt 358 Modified won’t be covered by the aluminum that identifies the car.
“It’s identical to any other car we’ve built this year,” relates Pete Bicknell, adding “ drivers and crew won’t pick up any ideas but for the race fan … it could provide them a better understanding of what goes into our cars.”
The Seneca Niagara Dwarf Car/Mod Lite Division will be represented by rookie competitor Paul Klager who comes to the division from the 4 Cylinders. Another rookie Adam Murphy who is brand new to the sport in 2005 and sophomore driver Shawn Sliter will also represent the Class.
Alan Sleight will showcase his Sportsmen Car as he prepares for his initial season aboard the former Dan Miller 358 Modified. Sleight’s car is one of many new cars that will have installed the new GM Crate Engine – an option in 2005 - that is making the sport more economical and bringing new faces to the division.
Second generation Original Pizza Logs Sportsmen competitors and brothers Doug and Don Spiece will also display their cars.
The growing 4 Cylinder Division will also be represented by 2004 Point Champion Trevor Goulding in addition to that of veteran Rob Goulding.
Merrittville Speedway’s Tuesday Night Kart Races will be represented by Auto FX Graphics Junior Restricted Light 2004 Champion Mat Williamson as well as competitors Joey Mastroianni, Larry Davidson, Kelly Athanasas and Brett Robins while Shane Robertson will debut that he will move up to the Senior Division in for 2005.
For over 29 years, Seaway Mall has been Niagara’s friendliest Shopping destination! Seaway Mall has 120 stores and services located on Niagara Street at Woodlawn Road in Welland. Seaway Mall merchants invite you to stop by or visit them on line at www.seawaymall.com.
Once again Merrittville Speedway’s Tuesday Night Kart Teams will join the March Break activities and attractions at the Niagara Square Shopping Centre in Niagara Falls Ontario.
Philbrick Farm & Garden Original Pizza Logs Senior Competitors Chris Steele and Rob Hutchison will join some of the junior level karters from March 13th to 19th.
When the pre-season displays conclude at the Pen Centre the week of March 29th to April 3rd, Chris Steele will unveil his 2005 Dwarf Car entry as he prepares to race on both venues for the second season.
A driver making a return to the sport in 2005 with a brand new Bicknell Chassis is Ken Cosgrove as he plans on returning to the L. St. Amand 358 Modified division. His new car will be featured as will the Swiss Fudge #38 of second generation 358 Modified driver Scott Wood.
Veteran competitor Rob Knapp is moving back to the original Pizza Logs Sportsmen Division after racing last year in the Hoosier Stocks. Knapp’s younger brother Kevin will be behind the wheel of his former full-fendered car and both will join the show at the Pen Centre.
Joining Knapp in showing off the Sportsmen Class will be Mike Bowman who is preparing for his first full season of competition after making a late season debut last season.
Two sophomore drivers – Tyler MacPherson and Travis Braun, will also represent the Hoosier Stock Class.
In preparation for their 2nd straight Merrittville visit – Saturday August 20th, two BRP Can Am Super Stock Late Models will round out the display. Last year, the Late Models generated considerable interest and at the track the touring group put on one of the best shows of last year.
For further information on Merrittville Speedway 2005 Schedule of Events call 905-892-8266 or visit www.merrittvillespeedway.com.
The Spring Preview begins not too far from the speedway itself as the promotional team travels down Merrittville Highway and into the Seaway Mall in Welland. The show begins March 1st and runs until March 6th.
17-time L. St. Amand Enterprises 358 Modified Champion Pete Bicknell is set to unveil his 2005 Texaco Havoline-Merrittville Speedway sponsored # 42 – one of many built since last season at his Bicknell Racing Products Shop in St. Catharines.
Race fans and shoppers will get a view of Bicknell’s car that most people don’t see as there will be no body panels on the new racer.
The design and construction of all the steel tubing … suspension components … the engine and drive line … all the internal workings of a Dirt 358 Modified won’t be covered by the aluminum that identifies the car.
“It’s identical to any other car we’ve built this year,” relates Pete Bicknell, adding “ drivers and crew won’t pick up any ideas but for the race fan … it could provide them a better understanding of what goes into our cars.”
The Seneca Niagara Dwarf Car/Mod Lite Division will be represented by rookie competitor Paul Klager who comes to the division from the 4 Cylinders. Another rookie Adam Murphy who is brand new to the sport in 2005 and sophomore driver Shawn Sliter will also represent the Class.
Alan Sleight will showcase his Sportsmen Car as he prepares for his initial season aboard the former Dan Miller 358 Modified. Sleight’s car is one of many new cars that will have installed the new GM Crate Engine – an option in 2005 - that is making the sport more economical and bringing new faces to the division.
Second generation Original Pizza Logs Sportsmen competitors and brothers Doug and Don Spiece will also display their cars.
The growing 4 Cylinder Division will also be represented by 2004 Point Champion Trevor Goulding in addition to that of veteran Rob Goulding.
Merrittville Speedway’s Tuesday Night Kart Races will be represented by Auto FX Graphics Junior Restricted Light 2004 Champion Mat Williamson as well as competitors Joey Mastroianni, Larry Davidson, Kelly Athanasas and Brett Robins while Shane Robertson will debut that he will move up to the Senior Division in for 2005.
For over 29 years, Seaway Mall has been Niagara’s friendliest Shopping destination! Seaway Mall has 120 stores and services located on Niagara Street at Woodlawn Road in Welland. Seaway Mall merchants invite you to stop by or visit them on line at www.seawaymall.com.
Once again Merrittville Speedway’s Tuesday Night Kart Teams will join the March Break activities and attractions at the Niagara Square Shopping Centre in Niagara Falls Ontario.
Philbrick Farm & Garden Original Pizza Logs Senior Competitors Chris Steele and Rob Hutchison will join some of the junior level karters from March 13th to 19th.
When the pre-season displays conclude at the Pen Centre the week of March 29th to April 3rd, Chris Steele will unveil his 2005 Dwarf Car entry as he prepares to race on both venues for the second season.
A driver making a return to the sport in 2005 with a brand new Bicknell Chassis is Ken Cosgrove as he plans on returning to the L. St. Amand 358 Modified division. His new car will be featured as will the Swiss Fudge #38 of second generation 358 Modified driver Scott Wood.
Veteran competitor Rob Knapp is moving back to the original Pizza Logs Sportsmen Division after racing last year in the Hoosier Stocks. Knapp’s younger brother Kevin will be behind the wheel of his former full-fendered car and both will join the show at the Pen Centre.
Joining Knapp in showing off the Sportsmen Class will be Mike Bowman who is preparing for his first full season of competition after making a late season debut last season.
Two sophomore drivers – Tyler MacPherson and Travis Braun, will also represent the Hoosier Stock Class.
In preparation for their 2nd straight Merrittville visit – Saturday August 20th, two BRP Can Am Super Stock Late Models will round out the display. Last year, the Late Models generated considerable interest and at the track the touring group put on one of the best shows of last year.
For further information on Merrittville Speedway 2005 Schedule of Events call 905-892-8266 or visit www.merrittvillespeedway.com.
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
CSC Racing to distribute HANS Devices
NEWMARKET, ON - I just received word from Jennifer DeWinter at CSC Racing Products, letting me know that CSC has signed a deal to distribute the popular HANS Devices in Canada.
CSC, one of Canada's most respected and trusted motorsports equipment retailers, expects to receive its initial shipment of HANS Devices by the third week of March.
CSC, one of Canada's most respected and trusted motorsports equipment retailers, expects to receive its initial shipment of HANS Devices by the third week of March.
NASCAR: Explosive Growth
There was a story in last Saturday's Toronto Star about the popularity of NASCAR and its power as a marketing juggernaut. The lengthy piece includes a section about CASCAR's relationship with NASCAR.
- Greg.
By Paul Hunter // The Toronto Star
The M&Ms No.38 car slingshots past UPS No.88 after a heart-pounding 11 laps of trading paint.
Another Sunday stop on the NASCAR circuit? No, this is Vaughan, where a little bit of Saturday night rubbin' heats things up on a cold winter's night.
To find the future of NASCAR, to understand how far the stock car world has evolved from its bootlegging roots in the tobacco belt, look not to today's roarfest at Daytona, the Super Bowl for the gears-and-beers set.
Instead, trek to the sprawling malldom of suburbia where the fanatic and the fanciful line up to indulge their motorhead fantasies, lived out at top speeds of 28 kilometres an hour on the indoor Figure-8 track at the recently opened NASCAR SpeedPark.
Vaughan Mills is where the marketing engine that is the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing and the sport's loyal and broadening fan base embrace in unabashed symbiosis.
At the 40,000 square-foot NASCAR altar, there are smaller tracks for smaller fans, race simulators that give the feel of competing in a speedway event and, of course, licensed merchandise. From Tiffany floor lamps with the late Dale Earnhardt's No.3 immortalized in leaded glass, at $349.95 (Canadian) a pop, to a figurine of an orange-clad Santa Claus driving an orange Home Depot sleigh emblazoned with Tony Stewart's familiar No.20. They're either $19.95 or $69.95, depending, apparently, on the size of your gift-giving spirit.
This ain't your granddaddy's NASCAR, especially if he was agood ol' boy named Bubba, Skeeter or Bobby Joe. Those hayseeds have sewn a multibillion-dollar industry.
The sport, like its fan base, has come to have teeth.
NASCAR has put pedal to the metal to distance itself from the tobacco-spittin', cow tippin', hard cussin', beer swillin' hillbilly image that once defined the typical stock car driver, making him the darlin' of the deep south.
Now those drivers make so many Gs you can forget the apostrophes. The ad-plastered man behind the wheel is more likely to be a yacht-owning, celebrity-dating, Versace-wearing, private-plane piloting, Saturday Night Live-hosting megastar. He'll show up among People magazine's 50 Sexiest Men long before he makes an appearance at anyone's clandestine still in the Carolina woods.
Those drivers are the darlings of corporate America and there are no more double negatives, only positives. These are clean-cut, uniformly white males who project family - read mainstream America - values. Their devoted fan base became part of the lexicon during the last presidential election as candidates wooed NASCAR dads, the group of rural, conservative beer-drinking fans large enough to swing the U.S. leadership race.
Forget moonshine. These new drivers not only sip wine, they sell it. Four-time NASCAR champ Jeff Gordon will begin marketing his grape fuel this fall. The first release will be a 2004 Carneros - not Camaros - Chardonnay.
"These wines are not intended to be a novelty item, and they are not connected whatsoever with souvenir sales," Gordon said when he launched his label.
For NASCAR, these are the Days of Plunder. The chance to reap huge financial rewards as stock car racing has grown into the second-most popular sport in the United States behind the monolithic NFL.
NASCAR's research shows there are some 75 million Americans (roughly one in three adults) who consider themselves fans of the sport and understand that it is more than a bunch of rednecks turning left for three hours.
More importantly, a third of those fans are in the 18 to 34 range, a demographic coveted by advertisers. The resulting financial numbers are staggering in what is now an annual $6 billion (U.S.) industry.
In June, 2003 NASCAR signed a 10-year, $700 million (U.S.) agreement with Nextel Communications to take over sponsorship of its top series. It is in the midst of a six-year, $2.4 billion (U.S.) TV contract signed with NBC and Fox and it has been the only sport to show consistent growth in television ratings over the last five years. Fans spend an estimated $2 billion (U.S.) on merchandise, up from $90 million in 1998. NASCAR brings in almost $1 billion (U.S.) in sponsorship every year.
"The growth is explosive. I've never seen anything else like it in sports marketing," said Randy Paul, the managing director of NASCAR Canada. "We haven't come close to tapping out the market."
In Canada, where NASCAR touts its fan base to be 5.8 million, some $2 million (Canadian) worth of products was sold in 2003, putting it just a million behind major league baseball but some $148 million (Canadian) in arrears of the NHL. But that was before last fall's formal agreement between NASCAR and CASCAR that will allow the Canadian operation to better tap into the marketing and management expertise of its American cousins.
That is expected to bring a huge boost in merchandise sales this side of the border. An Ipsos-Reid poll commissioned by the newly formed NASCAR Canada found that 44 per cent of stock car racing fans were "disappointed" with the number of NASCAR products available in this country and concluded that "there exists a significant opportunity to sell merchandise in Canada."
The first concrete test of that will come this spring when NASCAR apparel, previously sold mostly in Canada through mom and pop hobby shops, will hit the shelves at more than 300 Mark's Work Wearhouse stores across Canada.
"There definitely is a NASCAR movement afoot. The brand is becoming more prevalent in the marketplace. We felt we couldn't ignore the opportunity," says Dale Trybuch, the chain's Calgary-based general merchandise manager.
"Part of the appeal, I think, is that NASCAR works hard to keep the sport accessible. The drivers seem like the boy-next-door. He really could be a neighbour you could talk to even though these guys make millions of dollars a year."
They may pilot the cars but it's that down-home image, a holdover from a less corporate time, that drives the NASCAR economy. Companies pay as much as $20 million (U.S.) to back what they hope will be a winning driver and, because the identification with the sponsor is extremely high, those drivers are held to rigid standards of behaviour.
"It boils down to the dollar," Jimmie Johnson, a 14-time NASCAR race winner sponsored by Lowe's home improvement stores, told the L.A. Times. "Lowe's doesn't want someone as a spokesman with a drunk driving record or a drug problem. They have an image to uphold. At an early age, if you want to survive, you learn to put on a corporate hat and be responsible."
To that end, NASCAR provides its drivers with media training, instructing them on how to project the proper image by the correct use of everything from body language to their choice of words.
Rick Benjamin, who is teaching the course, says with the escalating cost of racing, it has almost reached the point where a driver has to be a salesperson first and a driver second. It's no longer enough just to be able to "drive the wheels off a car."
"They view media training like going to driving school - it's something they have to learn if they want to get to the top," he said on nascar.com.
With the footprint of NASCAR spreading across America - there are newer tracks in Phoenix, Dallas, Chicago and Kansas City - today's media-savvy drivers show up almost anywhere in the public eye following chairman Bill France's edict to "be the most aggressive marketers in sport."
There is NASCAR week on Family Feud. Drivers have been on Wheel Of Fortune, Days Of Our Lives, The West Wing and MTV's Cribs. Jeff Gordon has hosted both Saturday Night Live and Live with Regis and Kelly.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s autobiography Driver No. 8 spent 17 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and was Amazon.com's best-selling book in 2002.
NASCAR plans to produce one movie a year including an upcoming sequel to the Love Bug series in which Matt Dillon is the NASCAR driver of the popular Volkswagen. NASCAR 3D, an IMAX film, topped $20 million (U.S.) in gate receipts last year.
Any driver who strays from the image that the France family is trying to project better be prepared to suffer the consequences.
Fighting and swearing on TV are usually followed by emails from angry church groups and heavy fines. Fortune 500 companies, after all, don't want to see their walking billboards exchanging head noogies in the infield.
"A driver has to maintain the proper image for the sponsor or he'll be replaced," said Robbie Weiss, NASCAR's international director. "In a lot of other sports, endorsements are secondary. In NASCAR, a key part of success on the track is the relationship with the sponsor. A driver who doesn't represent himself properly not only has to deal with NASCAR, but also the person who put him out on the track."
The most glaring example of NASCAR's intolerance came last year when Dale Earnhardt Jr., in his exuberance over winning his fifth race at Talladega, uttered a profanity during an NBC interview.
"It don't mean s--- right now. Daddy's won here 10 times," he said.
Earnhardt later said the word was uttered in jubilation and hoped that would mitigate a penalty.
"If anybody was offended by the four-letter word I said ... I can't imagine why they would have tuned into the race in the first place," he said.
Nevertheless, Earnhardt was fined $10,000 (U.S.) and docked 25 points in the standings for the Nextel Cup.
Richie Gilmore, director of competition for Dale Earnhardt Inc., crystallized how the sport is changing amid increased corporatization.
"The popularity of the sport is based on colourful personalities and the fact that everyone can relate to these drivers and their emotions," he said. "Now that seems like a detriment."
Still the fans and the sponsors can't get enough in what Weiss calls an "organic connection."
"The fans recognize that the sponsor is an integral part of his favourite driver's team. They feel good about it. They don't look upon it as a company trying to sell them a product."
Marketers consider NASCAR followers the most brand-loyal fans in sport. Cars are known by the sponsor's name - the Home Depot car, the Tide car, the Cheerios car - and fan loyalty to a driver extends to his backers.
Rather than be offended by the proliferation of advertising, a Sports Illustrated poll found that a stunning 81 per cent of NASCAR fans make an effort to purchase the products of their favourite team sponsors.
"It's not a sport, it's a lifestyle choice by the fans," explains Paul.
"A family might decide to load up the kids and the grandparents in the Winnebago and head off to Michigan International Speedway to camp for a week because all their friends will be there. They would sit in chairs with Dale Earnhardt's name on the back, sit at a camping table shaped like the hood of a race car, drink from beer mugs with Tony Stewart's name on them while the kids play with their NASCAR die-cast replicas. They would cook on a NASCAR-branded barbecue and cut their wood for a fire with a Husqvarna (a NASCAR promotional partner) chainsaw."
"People want the products connected with NASCAR. They are looking for more goods and services (that carry the brand)." Corporate results show the power of that connection.
After Coca-Cola began sponsoring NASCAR, it sold an additional 55 million bottles of its soft drink each month, according to Harris Interactive, a market research firm.
Drakkar Noir, a relatively small company, signed on as one of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s sponsors in 2002. The impact was immediate. According to Brandweek, the marketing magazine, Drakkar Noir went from being ranked 15th in men's cologne sales in 2001 to third. The company's sales doubled in the first four weeks after it signed on with Earnhardt and sales have grown 138 per cent since the inception of the program.
Last week, Gulfstream Aerospace became an official NASCAR sponsor, a move that the No.3 maker of business jets sees as a means to gain access to the race teams and executives from other companies participating in the racing series.
"NASCAR has more Fortune 500 companies' involvement than any other sport and these companies are increasingly pursuing business-to-business opportunities within the sport," George Pyne, NASCAR's chief operating officer, said when making the announcement.
With so much money on the line, the result has been a sanitization of the drivers, or at least an iron-firm desire for the sport's front men to protect the image of the sport. In some ways, it is turning its back on its own history.
The racing league got its start when Bill France Sr., an Amoco garage owner who ran a road and beach race in his hometown of Daytona, gathered about 30 of the top drivers for a meeting at a local bar in December, 1947. With the drivers, he created a sanctioning body called NASCAR. The circuit grew but it was limited to the southeast and television exposure on racing segments on Wide World of Sports. NASCAR got its big break in 1979 when CBS opted to televise the Daytona 500, the first time a stock car race would be shown from flag-to-flag on national television.
NASCAR got a huge break when a snowstorm hit the U.S., keeping people indoors in front of their televisions. Fifteen million viewers watched the race that ended with a last-lap crash, a winner by a car length and a fist fight in the infield between Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison - with whom he'd collided at the end - and Bobby Allison entered the fray to defend his brother. It was wild entertainment and newcomers were hooked.
That national exposure came just as cable television was getting started and a nascent network called ESPN, in need of sports properties, began filling airtime with NASCAR events. As a television event, stock cars were off to the races.
But that growth and gentrification of the sport has alienated some long-time fans who feel NASCAR took a right turn somewhere and got too far away from its roots, while the drivers, despite their untold riches, maintain a remarkable ability to present themselves as common men and relate to the fans.
The momentum of NASCAR has taken it into big American cities - a New York initiative is considered the next important step - and with that has come bigger tracks and bigger prices. The Busch series will run an event in Mexico this year, the first time a points race has been held outside the United States and, according to NASCAR Canada's Paul, a future Canadian race remains "under consideration."
For now, local fans will have to settle for their little slice of the growing NASCAR pie at a shopping mall in Vaughan. 'The growth (of NASCAR) is explosive. I've never seen anything else like it in sports marketing.
- Greg.
By Paul Hunter // The Toronto Star
The M&Ms No.38 car slingshots past UPS No.88 after a heart-pounding 11 laps of trading paint.
Another Sunday stop on the NASCAR circuit? No, this is Vaughan, where a little bit of Saturday night rubbin' heats things up on a cold winter's night.
To find the future of NASCAR, to understand how far the stock car world has evolved from its bootlegging roots in the tobacco belt, look not to today's roarfest at Daytona, the Super Bowl for the gears-and-beers set.
Instead, trek to the sprawling malldom of suburbia where the fanatic and the fanciful line up to indulge their motorhead fantasies, lived out at top speeds of 28 kilometres an hour on the indoor Figure-8 track at the recently opened NASCAR SpeedPark.
Vaughan Mills is where the marketing engine that is the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing and the sport's loyal and broadening fan base embrace in unabashed symbiosis.
At the 40,000 square-foot NASCAR altar, there are smaller tracks for smaller fans, race simulators that give the feel of competing in a speedway event and, of course, licensed merchandise. From Tiffany floor lamps with the late Dale Earnhardt's No.3 immortalized in leaded glass, at $349.95 (Canadian) a pop, to a figurine of an orange-clad Santa Claus driving an orange Home Depot sleigh emblazoned with Tony Stewart's familiar No.20. They're either $19.95 or $69.95, depending, apparently, on the size of your gift-giving spirit.
This ain't your granddaddy's NASCAR, especially if he was agood ol' boy named Bubba, Skeeter or Bobby Joe. Those hayseeds have sewn a multibillion-dollar industry.
The sport, like its fan base, has come to have teeth.
NASCAR has put pedal to the metal to distance itself from the tobacco-spittin', cow tippin', hard cussin', beer swillin' hillbilly image that once defined the typical stock car driver, making him the darlin' of the deep south.
Now those drivers make so many Gs you can forget the apostrophes. The ad-plastered man behind the wheel is more likely to be a yacht-owning, celebrity-dating, Versace-wearing, private-plane piloting, Saturday Night Live-hosting megastar. He'll show up among People magazine's 50 Sexiest Men long before he makes an appearance at anyone's clandestine still in the Carolina woods.
Those drivers are the darlings of corporate America and there are no more double negatives, only positives. These are clean-cut, uniformly white males who project family - read mainstream America - values. Their devoted fan base became part of the lexicon during the last presidential election as candidates wooed NASCAR dads, the group of rural, conservative beer-drinking fans large enough to swing the U.S. leadership race.
Forget moonshine. These new drivers not only sip wine, they sell it. Four-time NASCAR champ Jeff Gordon will begin marketing his grape fuel this fall. The first release will be a 2004 Carneros - not Camaros - Chardonnay.
"These wines are not intended to be a novelty item, and they are not connected whatsoever with souvenir sales," Gordon said when he launched his label.
For NASCAR, these are the Days of Plunder. The chance to reap huge financial rewards as stock car racing has grown into the second-most popular sport in the United States behind the monolithic NFL.
NASCAR's research shows there are some 75 million Americans (roughly one in three adults) who consider themselves fans of the sport and understand that it is more than a bunch of rednecks turning left for three hours.
More importantly, a third of those fans are in the 18 to 34 range, a demographic coveted by advertisers. The resulting financial numbers are staggering in what is now an annual $6 billion (U.S.) industry.
In June, 2003 NASCAR signed a 10-year, $700 million (U.S.) agreement with Nextel Communications to take over sponsorship of its top series. It is in the midst of a six-year, $2.4 billion (U.S.) TV contract signed with NBC and Fox and it has been the only sport to show consistent growth in television ratings over the last five years. Fans spend an estimated $2 billion (U.S.) on merchandise, up from $90 million in 1998. NASCAR brings in almost $1 billion (U.S.) in sponsorship every year.
"The growth is explosive. I've never seen anything else like it in sports marketing," said Randy Paul, the managing director of NASCAR Canada. "We haven't come close to tapping out the market."
In Canada, where NASCAR touts its fan base to be 5.8 million, some $2 million (Canadian) worth of products was sold in 2003, putting it just a million behind major league baseball but some $148 million (Canadian) in arrears of the NHL. But that was before last fall's formal agreement between NASCAR and CASCAR that will allow the Canadian operation to better tap into the marketing and management expertise of its American cousins.
That is expected to bring a huge boost in merchandise sales this side of the border. An Ipsos-Reid poll commissioned by the newly formed NASCAR Canada found that 44 per cent of stock car racing fans were "disappointed" with the number of NASCAR products available in this country and concluded that "there exists a significant opportunity to sell merchandise in Canada."
The first concrete test of that will come this spring when NASCAR apparel, previously sold mostly in Canada through mom and pop hobby shops, will hit the shelves at more than 300 Mark's Work Wearhouse stores across Canada.
"There definitely is a NASCAR movement afoot. The brand is becoming more prevalent in the marketplace. We felt we couldn't ignore the opportunity," says Dale Trybuch, the chain's Calgary-based general merchandise manager.
"Part of the appeal, I think, is that NASCAR works hard to keep the sport accessible. The drivers seem like the boy-next-door. He really could be a neighbour you could talk to even though these guys make millions of dollars a year."
They may pilot the cars but it's that down-home image, a holdover from a less corporate time, that drives the NASCAR economy. Companies pay as much as $20 million (U.S.) to back what they hope will be a winning driver and, because the identification with the sponsor is extremely high, those drivers are held to rigid standards of behaviour.
"It boils down to the dollar," Jimmie Johnson, a 14-time NASCAR race winner sponsored by Lowe's home improvement stores, told the L.A. Times. "Lowe's doesn't want someone as a spokesman with a drunk driving record or a drug problem. They have an image to uphold. At an early age, if you want to survive, you learn to put on a corporate hat and be responsible."
To that end, NASCAR provides its drivers with media training, instructing them on how to project the proper image by the correct use of everything from body language to their choice of words.
Rick Benjamin, who is teaching the course, says with the escalating cost of racing, it has almost reached the point where a driver has to be a salesperson first and a driver second. It's no longer enough just to be able to "drive the wheels off a car."
"They view media training like going to driving school - it's something they have to learn if they want to get to the top," he said on nascar.com.
With the footprint of NASCAR spreading across America - there are newer tracks in Phoenix, Dallas, Chicago and Kansas City - today's media-savvy drivers show up almost anywhere in the public eye following chairman Bill France's edict to "be the most aggressive marketers in sport."
There is NASCAR week on Family Feud. Drivers have been on Wheel Of Fortune, Days Of Our Lives, The West Wing and MTV's Cribs. Jeff Gordon has hosted both Saturday Night Live and Live with Regis and Kelly.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s autobiography Driver No. 8 spent 17 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and was Amazon.com's best-selling book in 2002.
NASCAR plans to produce one movie a year including an upcoming sequel to the Love Bug series in which Matt Dillon is the NASCAR driver of the popular Volkswagen. NASCAR 3D, an IMAX film, topped $20 million (U.S.) in gate receipts last year.
Any driver who strays from the image that the France family is trying to project better be prepared to suffer the consequences.
Fighting and swearing on TV are usually followed by emails from angry church groups and heavy fines. Fortune 500 companies, after all, don't want to see their walking billboards exchanging head noogies in the infield.
"A driver has to maintain the proper image for the sponsor or he'll be replaced," said Robbie Weiss, NASCAR's international director. "In a lot of other sports, endorsements are secondary. In NASCAR, a key part of success on the track is the relationship with the sponsor. A driver who doesn't represent himself properly not only has to deal with NASCAR, but also the person who put him out on the track."
The most glaring example of NASCAR's intolerance came last year when Dale Earnhardt Jr., in his exuberance over winning his fifth race at Talladega, uttered a profanity during an NBC interview.
"It don't mean s--- right now. Daddy's won here 10 times," he said.
Earnhardt later said the word was uttered in jubilation and hoped that would mitigate a penalty.
"If anybody was offended by the four-letter word I said ... I can't imagine why they would have tuned into the race in the first place," he said.
Nevertheless, Earnhardt was fined $10,000 (U.S.) and docked 25 points in the standings for the Nextel Cup.
Richie Gilmore, director of competition for Dale Earnhardt Inc., crystallized how the sport is changing amid increased corporatization.
"The popularity of the sport is based on colourful personalities and the fact that everyone can relate to these drivers and their emotions," he said. "Now that seems like a detriment."
Still the fans and the sponsors can't get enough in what Weiss calls an "organic connection."
"The fans recognize that the sponsor is an integral part of his favourite driver's team. They feel good about it. They don't look upon it as a company trying to sell them a product."
Marketers consider NASCAR followers the most brand-loyal fans in sport. Cars are known by the sponsor's name - the Home Depot car, the Tide car, the Cheerios car - and fan loyalty to a driver extends to his backers.
Rather than be offended by the proliferation of advertising, a Sports Illustrated poll found that a stunning 81 per cent of NASCAR fans make an effort to purchase the products of their favourite team sponsors.
"It's not a sport, it's a lifestyle choice by the fans," explains Paul.
"A family might decide to load up the kids and the grandparents in the Winnebago and head off to Michigan International Speedway to camp for a week because all their friends will be there. They would sit in chairs with Dale Earnhardt's name on the back, sit at a camping table shaped like the hood of a race car, drink from beer mugs with Tony Stewart's name on them while the kids play with their NASCAR die-cast replicas. They would cook on a NASCAR-branded barbecue and cut their wood for a fire with a Husqvarna (a NASCAR promotional partner) chainsaw."
"People want the products connected with NASCAR. They are looking for more goods and services (that carry the brand)." Corporate results show the power of that connection.
After Coca-Cola began sponsoring NASCAR, it sold an additional 55 million bottles of its soft drink each month, according to Harris Interactive, a market research firm.
Drakkar Noir, a relatively small company, signed on as one of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s sponsors in 2002. The impact was immediate. According to Brandweek, the marketing magazine, Drakkar Noir went from being ranked 15th in men's cologne sales in 2001 to third. The company's sales doubled in the first four weeks after it signed on with Earnhardt and sales have grown 138 per cent since the inception of the program.
Last week, Gulfstream Aerospace became an official NASCAR sponsor, a move that the No.3 maker of business jets sees as a means to gain access to the race teams and executives from other companies participating in the racing series.
"NASCAR has more Fortune 500 companies' involvement than any other sport and these companies are increasingly pursuing business-to-business opportunities within the sport," George Pyne, NASCAR's chief operating officer, said when making the announcement.
With so much money on the line, the result has been a sanitization of the drivers, or at least an iron-firm desire for the sport's front men to protect the image of the sport. In some ways, it is turning its back on its own history.
The racing league got its start when Bill France Sr., an Amoco garage owner who ran a road and beach race in his hometown of Daytona, gathered about 30 of the top drivers for a meeting at a local bar in December, 1947. With the drivers, he created a sanctioning body called NASCAR. The circuit grew but it was limited to the southeast and television exposure on racing segments on Wide World of Sports. NASCAR got its big break in 1979 when CBS opted to televise the Daytona 500, the first time a stock car race would be shown from flag-to-flag on national television.
NASCAR got a huge break when a snowstorm hit the U.S., keeping people indoors in front of their televisions. Fifteen million viewers watched the race that ended with a last-lap crash, a winner by a car length and a fist fight in the infield between Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison - with whom he'd collided at the end - and Bobby Allison entered the fray to defend his brother. It was wild entertainment and newcomers were hooked.
That national exposure came just as cable television was getting started and a nascent network called ESPN, in need of sports properties, began filling airtime with NASCAR events. As a television event, stock cars were off to the races.
But that growth and gentrification of the sport has alienated some long-time fans who feel NASCAR took a right turn somewhere and got too far away from its roots, while the drivers, despite their untold riches, maintain a remarkable ability to present themselves as common men and relate to the fans.
The momentum of NASCAR has taken it into big American cities - a New York initiative is considered the next important step - and with that has come bigger tracks and bigger prices. The Busch series will run an event in Mexico this year, the first time a points race has been held outside the United States and, according to NASCAR Canada's Paul, a future Canadian race remains "under consideration."
For now, local fans will have to settle for their little slice of the growing NASCAR pie at a shopping mall in Vaughan. 'The growth (of NASCAR) is explosive. I've never seen anything else like it in sports marketing.
TV: Record numbers for D500 on TSN
TORONTO, ON - TSN's live coverage of the Daytona 500attracted a national average minute audience of 506,000 viewers*, making itthe most-watched motorsport race in TSN's 20-year history.
Audience levelspeaked at 645,000 viewers from 5:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET towards the end of theNASCAR race, as Jeff Gordon fought his way through the pack to take thecheckered flag.
This year's audience represents a five per cent increase over TSN's previousauto racing high - the 1997 F-1 European Grand Prix, which attracted 481,000viewers. It also marks a 19 per cent increase from the 1999 Daytona 500 -the previous most-watched NASCAR race on TSN, which attracted 424,000viewers.
In 2003 - the last time the Daytona 500 was televised on TSN - the raceattracted 240,000 viewers. TSN has been televising the Daytona 500 everyyear since 1998, excluding the 2004 race.
TSN has 21 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races this season, 17 of which will betelevised in High Definition. TSN's next race is the Auto Club 500(California Speedway) on Sunday, Feb. 27 at 2 p.m. ET (available in HD).
Sunday, February 20, 2005
DAYTONA 500... comments
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - Some comments about the Daytona 500.... feel free to chime in with any comments.
During the caution for Bobby Labonte's engine meltdown, UPS ran a new Dale Jarrett ad... in it, Dale said he would drive the truck. The way his truck fell like a rock through the field after starting on the pole, he might as well be driving the truck.
Tony Stewart is looking strong... but we've seen that before.
During the caution for Bobby Labonte's engine meltdown, UPS ran a new Dale Jarrett ad... in it, Dale said he would drive the truck. The way his truck fell like a rock through the field after starting on the pole, he might as well be driving the truck.
Tony Stewart is looking strong... but we've seen that before.
ITMN: New Issue online
TORONTO, ON - We just updated the main section of our website to include some stories and photos from the most current issue of Inside Track Motorsport News.
The new issue will be hitting your mailboxes shortly. The ITMN site includes sponsored features, like the Castrol CASCAR Update, the Shouldice ALSTAR Update, the Lucas Oil WWS Update and many more. Have a look at the SPECIAL FEATURES link on the left side to find these stories.
Click on this link to visit the official Inside Track Motorsport News website to see the newly uploaded stories and features.
The new issue will be hitting your mailboxes shortly. The ITMN site includes sponsored features, like the Castrol CASCAR Update, the Shouldice ALSTAR Update, the Lucas Oil WWS Update and many more. Have a look at the SPECIAL FEATURES link on the left side to find these stories.
Click on this link to visit the official Inside Track Motorsport News website to see the newly uploaded stories and features.
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