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Turning Radius: NASCAR tries to engage Millennials
NASCAR is trying to respond to the challenge faced by almost all spectator sports — how to engage Millennials.
NASCAR Timeline
- 1947: Bill France Sr. holds a meeting of drivers, car owners and mechanics at Daytona’s Streamline Hotel to standardize rules for stock car racing.
- 1948: NASCAR is incorporated with France as the leader.
- 1971: R.J. Reynolds Tobacco becomes a NASCAR title sponsor after Congress bans cigarette ads on TV and radio. NASCAR’s premier series is renamed the Winston Cup.
- 1972: Bill France Sr. retires and turns over control of NASCAR to Bill France Jr.
- 1979: The Daytona 500 is telecast live in its entirety for the first time. A trackside fistfight between Cale Yarborough and the Allison brothers thrusts the sport into the national spotlight.
- 2003: Brian France succeeds his father, Bill France Jr., as NASCAR chairman and CEO.
- 2004: Nextel takes over as title sponsor for NASCAR’s Cup series from R.J. Reynolds.
- 2013: NASCAR secures an estimated $8.2 billion from Fox and NBC for race broadcast rights through 2024.
- 2014: NASCAR announces a new championship format that encourages drivers to win races rather than race for points throughout the season.
- 2015: NASCAR signs five-year agreements with 23 tracks to host Cup races in hopes that track owners will make long-term investments.
- January 2016: Daytona Rising, a $400-million renovation of Daytona International Speedway, opens in time for the Daytona 500.
- February 2016: NASCAR introduces a new franchise-like charter system to give team owners more financial stability. Richard Petty calls it the most important thing to happen in NASCAR since its founding.
- 2017: Monster Energy becomes title sponsor of NASCAR’s Cup series, replacing Sprint, which had assumed the naming rights after it bought Nextel. Monster’s two-year deal reportedly is worth $20 millionplus annually, much less than the $75 million a year that Sprint paid.
NASCAR’s First Family
NASCAR functions as a sanctioning body for stock car racing. For more than 17 years, NASCAR has negotiated with TV networks on behalf of racetracks for the rights to telecast events. The France family controls NASCAR and publicly traded International Speedway Corp., which operates racetracks. Both NASCAR and ISC are headquartered in the same building across from Daytona International Speedway.
- Brian France, 55, grandson of late NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., is chairman and CEO of NASCAR.
- Brian’s sister, Lesa France Kennedy, 56, is chief executive of International Speedway Corp.
- Their uncle, Jim France, 73, is ISC chairman.
International Speedway Corp. (ISC)
Publicly traded ISC owns and operates 13 racetracks that host NASCAR races, including Daytona International Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway. The company also has a stadium-concessions business called Americrown Services and a motorsports radio network, MRN Radio.
- Headquarters: Daytona Beach
- Founded: 1953
- â-ºCEO: Lesa France Kennedy, 56
- Employees: 820
- 2017 revenue: $671.4 million
- 2017 profit: $110.8 million
Where the Money Comes From
NASCAR makes money from corporate sponsors, TV deals with broadcast partners, licenses for race teams and sales of NASCARlicensed merchandise. It also charges racetracks sanctioning fees to host events.
ISC, meanwhile, generates most of its revenue from broadcast licensing fees and corporate sponsorships for motorsports events.
Declining Ticket Sales
Ticket sales at ISC-owned racetracks are down by half from their peak in 2007. ISC’s main competitor, Concord, N.C.-based Speedway Motorsports, has seen a similar decline in admissions revenue during the past decade. The two companies operate 21 of the 23 racetracks on the NASCAR Cup circuit.
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