The Spin Out Zone – Michael Waltrip & Corporate Naming Rights Get Bumped

Now, hold on – here is the bump and the SPIN OUT!

Change, change and more change!

I’m thinking, I’m not too hip on this NEW NASCAR that I am seeing these days.
Actually, as a fan, I’m down right nervous and so should be NASCAR, the owners
and drivers.

Another track has gone corporate! We all know how strong the corporate hold
is within NASCAR. Let’s face it, NASCAR is successful because of team
sponsorships and marketing revenues. But, we are NOW moving down a road that I
am not sure we need to take.

Similar to the naming rights on stadiums and arenas in football, basketball
and baseball, corporations are now putting their names on tracks. Sure, it’s
great for the track owners. Who wouldn’t turn down big cash to change a name?
But, in return the tracks tend to raise ticket prices without adding value, plus
they are setting a trend when it comes to their competition.

Michael Waltrip, who is one of my favorite drivers, said this week on Inside
Winston Cup, that he is fine with tracks being named after a company. MIKEY, you
are the BEST at adding value to your sponsor! No one and I mean no one does it
better than you and NAPA & Aaron’s would be stupid to loose you, but
understand this – if Joe Blow Rent A Center buys the naming rights to Michigan
or any other track, it’ll become "Joe Blow Rent A Center Speedway".
Like those corporations before Joe Blow, Aaron’s your BGN sponsor will have
their merchandise pulled from the speedway and put in a back room. Why? Because
Joe Blow does not have to compete with Aaron’s on the track that they
"own" AND you can’t blame them!

My warning – this is only the beginning. Folks, when a corporation touches
something, they want something in return. Whether it’s revenue or airtime, all
they want is to sell their products and crush their competition. That’s the
corporate way and I believe it works when it’s on the cars racing around a
track, but please not in track naming rights. Ultimately, the fans will end up
loosing.

NASCAR has done a pretty good job at keeping the playing field level when it
comes to race day, but when a corporation like Lowe’s owns the naming rights to
a track, it is not a level playing field for the sponsors. The game has been to
see which driver and sponsor will end up in victory lane at the end of the day.
If we allow corporations to basically own tracks, at some point, sponsors will
withdraw from the game. It’s as simple as that.

The naming aspect will be just one of the challenges, another would be
advertising. Remember last year when Lowe’s Motor Speedway threatened to pull
the plug on a race because NBC would not recognize the speedway as Lowe’s? Well,
the reason is because Lowe’s had not bought advertising on the network, thus
leading the network to exclude the Lowe’s name. What a nightmare if this
situation becomes a common practice, AND it could, it very well could become
reality. In that case, EVERYONE associated with NASCAR, including us, would pay
the price.

So, I am in favor of keeping the corporate and track names separate. I’m also
BEGGING Mr. Waltrip (the tall one), to rethink his position on this situation. I
am sure once NASCAR and the drivers list the pros and the cons to corporate
naming rights, the picture will be ever so clear. STAY AWAY!

This weeks SPIN OUT goes to – Michael Waltrip & Corporate Naming Rights
to Tracks – because who really wants to race at Viagra Speedway?

Until next week, happy bumping!