Sponsors, Drivers, Tracks & NASCAR
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Note:
My articles are based solely on my thoughts and observations. Normally I do not
offer statistics, although at times I may reference what different broadcasters,
among others, have said or alluded to.
As NASCAR's Playoffs have started, there are many
things some of us are contemplating. There are 40 cars in each race normally.
Each car has an owner, a team and a driver. Most of the cars also have
sponsors.
Speaking of sponsors, I just read that Monster
Energy is requesting more time for their NASCAR sponsorship decision. It is
reported they will make that decision in 2018. There are no reports or rumors
of another sponsor for the series at this time.
I
also read that Farmers Insurance paid Hendrick Motorsports about $660,000 per
race over the last six seasons in which Farmers was the primary sponsor for
Kasey Kahne, according to contracts from the deal. The insurance company was
the primary sponsor for Kahne for 22 races in 2012 for $13.5 million, in 2013
for $14.04 million and in 2014 for $16.348 million. It decreased its total to
12 races for the next three years, paying $7.6 million in 2015, $7.8 million in
2016 and $8 in 2017. That is a lot of
money to be paying for only mediocre exposure to the fans and public.
After
many years of sponsorship, Smithfield has left RPM and there is a bit of
disagreement as to why. Richard Petty said he felt they had a handshake
agreement to stay together, but Smithfield put out a statement in reference to
RPM, (as an entity) not performing as well as the Company wants them to so the
sponsorship was terminated. Fans are divided about the situation and seem to be
down on Smithfield, which has since signed with SHR. Tony Stewart, who was
speaking for SHR, said they are not sure which driver will be getting that
sponsorship. There is still the issue about whether or not they will have
sponsorship for Kurt Busch so he remains unsigned at this time.
If
one does research, one will discover that much larger companies have purchased
some of the companies that were once small, locally owned and now they are just
a part of a huge conglomerate. Some are now owned by foreign entities while
some are still owned by companies headquartered in the USA.
As
sponsorship becomes harder to get due to costs and recognition, it seems
inevitable that the number of cars competing in NASCAR, or on the local scene,
will start dwindling. Attendance and television viewership will also be
affected. It looks as if there might be bleak days in the future of stock car
racing, as well as other types of auto sports. This prospect saddens many fans.
I
was listening to music as I was writing this and the following song came up and
I thought it was a good one to use in this article and also offer a revised
lyrics to bemoan the sponsorship situation.
A
long, long time ago, there was a song written by Pete Seeger and performed
best, in my opinion, by Peter, Paul and Mary. There are different versions on
YouTube, but I chose this one:
My
revised lyrics are as follows:
·
Where
have all the sponsors gone, long time passing?
·
Where
have all the sponsors gone, long time ago?
·
Where
have all the sponsors gone?
·
Other
sports took them everyone.
·
Oh,
when will they ever learn?
·
Oh,
when will they ever learn?
·
Where
have all the drivers gone, long time passing?
·
Where
have all the drivers gone, long time ago?
·
Where
have all the drivers gone?
·
Gone
for retirement everyone.
·
Oh,
when will they ever learn?
·
Oh,
when will they ever learn?
·
Where
have all the race tracks gone, long time passing?
·
Where
have all the race tracks gone, long time ago?
·
Where
have all the race tracks gone?
·
Gone
to weeds and waste everywhere
·
Oh,
when will they ever learn?
·
Oh,
when will they ever learn?
·
Where
has all of NASCAR gone, long time passing?
·
Where
has all of NASCAR gone, long time ago?
·
Where
has all of NASCAR gone?
·
Gone
to foolishness everyone
·
Oh,
when will they ever learn?
·
Oh,
when will they ever learn?
Thank
you for reading. If you have any ideas or views as to sponsorship, please feel
free to share, either by commenting here or you can email me.