NASCAR Fueled by Passion, Testosterone, Brands
(AP Photo/Glenn Smith)
If Days of Thunder and Talladega Nights are what you think of when you hear the word NASCAR, it might be time to take another look. After covering stories throughout the south over the past couple of years, I learned how pervasive NASCAR was but not until I experienced the ear-splitting and almost ground shaking vibrations of a revving race car, spoke to a few of the drivers and fans did I get why it is as big as it is. Take a dash of competition, a smidge of unparalleled brand loyalty, pour in lots of testosterone and stir with a generous amount of corporate sponsorship and you have one of the largest spectator sports in America.
Walk into the infield of a race track and from motor home, to camper to fifth wheel trailer you'll see families making an entire weekend getaway out of what is usually a three or four hour race. Depending on the race track, they pay a couple of hundred dollars to park there, sometimes another 50 or so dollars to walk in closer to the cars and drivers and sometimes hundreds more to have a full run of the place. The fans buy boldly emblazoned merchandising featuring their favorite driver or car, but the most important thing they buy are the brands.
