It’s all about Danica, more or less
Jay Hart wrote an interesting story about our favorite IRL driver this week. It was all about Danica and Danica is all about Danica. She described her keeping her options open being about protecting the Danica brand.
Well as one who works in brand management, my advice to her would be to worry about winning a race. That step alone will go further to improving her brand status than a possible move to NASCAR. My advice is this – if Danica moves to NASCAR she should run the ABC ladder that most other drivers have run in order to get their skills tot eh Cup level. My guess is that she has little patience for such a thing. But if she struggles in Cup racing, as I think she will, her brand value will drop like she has never seen. Just ask Dario Franchitti or Sam Hornish, Jr.
After wining three IRL titles, Hornish is only now beginning to see the possible light at the end of a very long tunnel.
You want to maximize you star power? Win some races and then let’s talk about a move to NASCAR.
Empty seats redux
Labeled as Northern California’s biggest sporting event, the Infineon race will still be feeling the weight of the economic recession, but it should be less visible on TV. For those of you still watching TV.
And where have all the fans gone? Are race fans that ticked off or fed up with NASCAR or is the 10-12% drop in ratings reflect the loss of new fans to the sport that fed the wild and wooly growth? That would make some sense.
NASCAR was seen as “the” sport in its fast and furious rise to the top. That growth fueled new tracks, higher salaries and a need to be seen attitude that drove nouveau fans to the races. As soon as Hollywood was done with NASCAR though, it seems the shine wore off of our sport and that, combined with a reeling Detroit, has brought out the naysayers.
Let’s face it; Digger does not play as well at Spago as it does in Peoria. And it doesn’t play that well there either.
But my gist is this – it is possible that the drop in ratings is as much about new fans leaving as it is old fans tuning out. Old fans understand racing better. A lot of new fans came to the sport because it was the thing to do. A cause cÈlËbre if you will. And I will not say that all new fans are that way – many came and stayed because they race or love racing.
But before we decry our sport, perhaps the decline in ratings is something to be thankful for. I mean, who needs wannabe fans any way?
Well, that’s all for now. Let me know your thoughts.
Drive fast, turn left and keep the shiny side up.
Feel free to send Chuck your thoughts on this and other race topics at Insider Racing News.
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The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
