NASCAR Vs the Import Tuners

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racingold, it was said, were starting to turn away from
(NASCAR) is the premier sanctioning organization for"Detroit iron" to the Hondas, Toyotas and Nissans
motorsports in America. The three largest racingthat were easier (and cheaper) to "mod" (modify).
series it oversees are the NEXTEL Cup, the BuschBut despite this generational move, NASCAR events
Series and the Craftsman Truck Series, but it alsocontinued to grow in popularity, especially on TV. It
oversees NASCAR Regional Racing, the Whelenwas a bit confusing for advertisers and research
Modified Tour and the Whelen All-American Series. Infirms, who thought it somewhat counterintuitive.
fact, all told NASCAR sanctions over 1,500 races atFurther research, done in the early 2000s, revealed
over 100 tracks in 38 states, Canada and Mexico.the reason. A certain fraction of America's young car
After its birth in February 1949 as a regionalbuffs were buying and customizing different cars
entertainment promoter in the South, NASCAR grewthan their older brothers, but there were no
to become the second most popular pro sport incompetitive events on TV for them to turn to other
terms of television ratings in the U.S. Today it isthan NASCAR and a few SCCA (Sports Car Club of
outpaced only by the National Football League.America) races. Car guys, it seems, like all kinds of
NASCAR sponsors 17 of the top 20 sporting eventscar races, regardless of their own auto's pedigree.
(measured by attendance) in the U.S., and its 70+Change may come
million fans spend more than $2 billion a year onWith the proliferation of cable channels and Internet
NASCAR-licensed products.offerings, the import tuner crowd is starting to get
Dedicated fansTV and screen time of its own. The numbers for
Advertising professionals consider auto-sports fansNASCAR are still solid, but advertisers and auto
the most brand-loyal out of all sports, which is theindustry observers are still watching for the
real, dollar-and-cents rationale for Fortune 500viewership changes that they know are coming. And
companies sponsoring NASCAR more than they domost are looking in one direction.
any other sport, anywhere in the world. Around theThat direction, of course, is Japan. More precisely,
world, as a matter of fact, NASCAR races are nowJapanese cars, many of which are built right here in
broadcast in more than 150 nations, and a seriousthe U.S. There are no import tuner races in the cards,
global expansion plan seeks to build international fanand no one is planning TV or web coverage of the
support even more.various tuner-parts conventions, so it remains to be
Headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida, NASCARseen what kind of programming could compete with
also maintains offices in four North Carolina citiesthe NASCAR races.
(Charlotte, Mooresville, Concord and Conover) as wellNASCAR is still safely atop the heap as far as
as New York City, Los Angeles, Arkansas, Torontotelevised motorsports. The next few years are
and Mexico City. In recent years, NASCAR teamedcritically important, however, as the convergence of
with the Universal Technical Institute (UTI) to open aTV and Internet continues to change the viewing
trade school, the NASCAR Technical Institute, inlandscape. It is hard to imagine something as
North Carolina, where it provides state-of-the-art"American" as stock car racing fading away, but it
training to would-be NASCAR mechanics.may be that the process will be more of a gradual
Car cultures new and oldmetamorphosis than a quick change. The only good
In the 1990s, a new kind of car fan arrived on theadvice on this one is: Stay tuned!
scene, the "import tuner." Young men 18 to 30 years