NASCAR, Detroit take hard look at investments

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At first glance, nothing should seem amiss this weekend at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.When the NASCAR cars line up for Saturday's Nationwide Series race and Sunday's Sprint Cup extravaganza, it will be the same kaleidoscope of color and the same roar of horsepower that keep race fans coming back. But under the surface, segments of NASCAR are feeling the pinch, just like so many other Americans. Ask, for example, the automobile manufacturers who provide manpower, equipment and technology under the time-honored mantra of winning on Sunday and selling on Monday. Or the sponsors, now more careful in deciding how to invest their promotional and advertising dollars. Or the fans, a good number of whom have stayed home in recent months because of high ticket prices and the amount it costs to fill their tank to get to the track. The irony is not lost on those who make their living in a sport that gulps fuel in up to 500-mile increments. "It's really a tough state to be, of course, with fuel being the price that it is," driver Kurt Busch said earlier this summer. "But the show must go on." The Manufacturers:Ford lost $8.7 billion during the last fiscal quarter, while GM announced a $15.5 billion loss. That's with a "b." Chrysler and Toyota, the other manufacturers who support this sport, have also seen their sales go south. And when a company has to find ways to get its bottom line under control ... well, is it really unthinkable to imagine those companies reducing their NASCAR commitments, or someday even pulling out altogether if there's no long-term reversal? It's not going to happen immediately. All of the companies remain committed to the sport. But as Tim Duerr, marketing manager for Ford Racing, put it: "As long as we can see a return on our investment within the sport, we'll stay within the sport. If for some reason we see other marketing opportunities that get Ford a better return, that could change." Pat Suhy, the NASCAR group manager for GM Racing, said right now there's a particular emphasis on not squandering resources, whether it's cash or technology or manpower. "We're really making sure we focus on things that have a payback," he said. "Historically we've done science projects, trying to figure out some nuance of aerodynamics that doesn't fit the rules right now but that someday we may be able to apply if the rules change. "Now we're really just focused more on things that have a tangible benefit, short-term or in the near- to mid-term on the racetrack. That's the biggest change. We haven't narrowed our focus, but we've really just shifted it." The Sponsors Changing economic conditions also have changed the way companies approach NASCAR sponsorships. As an example, we submit Carl Edwards. His main sponsor for years has been Office Depot. But the ever-changing color scheme of his car this year is indicative of a growing trend toward multiple primary sponsors. He has run 11 races with Office Depot on the hood as the primary sponsor. He has run six with Aflac, three with Dish Network and two with Claritin. When he won at Fontana in February, he was driving the "No. 99 Dish Network Ford." Sunday, he'll be driving what NASCAR refers to in its literature as the "No. 99 Aflac Ford." "It used to be where most of the cars entered had one single sponsor for all season," said Steve Lauletta, president of Chip Ganassi Racing. "You can count those on one hand now. It takes multiple sponsors to get to a point where you're going to get a car fully funded." NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said in an e-mail that there are more than 400 team sponsors among the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Craftsman Truck series, including new sponsors and sponsors that have increased their financial support. "NASCAR's economy continues to be strong," he wrote. Yet some sponsors have pulled back, or even pulled out. Texaco-Havoline, which had sponsored Juan Pablo Montoya's ride for Chip Ganassi racing, announced a week ago that it will end its sponsorship at the conclusion of this season. The Navy will discontinue its sponsorship of Brad Keselowski's Nationwide car at the end of the year. And Craftsman Tools, sponsor of the truck racing series, also is out as of the end of this season. The Fans The trend hit home, for automobile executives, when it reached their own back yard. Michigan International Speedway, in Brooklyn, Mich., has sold out NASCAR events pretty consistently over the years. But neither event this summer came close to doing so. It shouldn't have been a surprise, given that Michigan's unemployment figure is about 8 percent and the auto industry's woes have permeated the entire state economy. But that wasn't an isolated incident. Charlotte and Daytona, to name two venerable venues, couldn't fill their tracks either for mid-summer races. Tickets, fuel for the trip, campground fees for the infield ... even as loyal as NASCAR fans are, for a growing number the cost has just been too great. Fontana, which has a streak of nine straight non-sellouts even in better economic conditions, probably won't buck the trend, even as the price of gas has dipped slightly in the past few weeks. Sprint, trying to boost business on two fronts, launched a program in July where fans who brought a race ticket or ticket stub to activate or upgrade their wireless service received a $100 rewards card. "But the flip side is that NASCAR's TV ratings have gone up through the season," Ford's Duerr said. "As your attendance at the track goes down, the viewership at home actually goes up ... And they do see the brand, they do see the Ford nameplate." For those affiliated with NASCAR, then, the bottom line has become threefold. The first two items are perennial: win races and sell things. The third? Hang in there until the economy improves. E-mail Jim Alexander at jalexander(at)PE.com(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)