WILL THE CofT COME OFF THE NASCAR ASSEMBLY LINE?
Well, I finished Mark Yost’s “The 200 MPH Billboard: The Inside Story on How Big Money Changed NASCAR” over the weekend. It was a very good “read” and put me onto several topics that I want to investigate further. Mr. Yost closed his book with an epilogue, “What’s Next for NASCAR?” Some of his observations were off. For example, he suggested that the company taking over the former Busch series could be expected to pay three to four times more than Anheuser-Busch did and we all know that wasn’t the case. Still, he raises some interesting topics.
One that struck me was that he saw NASCAR eventually building the Car of Tomorrow and selling it to the different teams. In that way, NASCAR accomplishes two important objectives: (1) make sure all the cars are the same so that no team has an advantage and (2) make MORE MONEY! NASCAR “owns” a great deal in the sport, including TV rights, merchandising rights for NASCAR merchandise, and even NASCAR Images, which controls photography and film. So, why not own the cars and have rights for building and selling them to teams? Seems like a possibility “down the road”.
And, in case you missed it (and that would be hard to believe), a former black female NASCAR official has filed a $250 million lawsuit for racial and sexual discrimination, sexual harassment, and wrongful termination. If, as they say, “perception is reality,” this will be a major blow to NASCAR’s drive for diversity.
And that’s the view from here.
Jon