AUTO RACING

While it can't bring back the glory days of Richard Petty or racing on the beach in Daytona, NASCAR is trying to reconnect with its core fan base.

The racing league, concerned about dropping television ratings, started a marketing campaign this season to court the people who first took it to prominence.

That campaign comes close to home next weekend when the Sprint Cup Series hits Richmond International Raceway, which will host a 400-mile race on Saturday and a 200-mile race on Sunday.

To rehook its traditional fans, the NASCAR campaign includes commercials that highlight the sport's history. The league also wants more attention paid to what's happening on the track than the issues that detract from the race.

"Racing is our core business," said Ramsey Poston, who oversees communications for NASCAR. "As long as we can get the best side-by-side racing on the track, we'll be fine."

NASCAR is an $8 billion industry generated from sponsorships, merchandise and scores of other avenues. This includes an eight-year, $4.48 billion television contract signed in 2007.

The two races in Richmond generate about $221 million for the area.

Early results from the renewed focus are promising. Television ratings this season are up 2 percent from last year, according to The Nielsen Co. ratings.

R. Jon Ackley, who teaches a course on the business of NASCAR at Virginia Commonwealth University, said the league has cultivated a different audience in the past 10 years. That has begun to alienate longtime fans of the sport.

In 1998, the average fan was a white man between the ages of 35 and 44 with a household income between $30,000 and $50,000.

Today, that has shifted to between 18 and 44 with an average income of more than $50,000. Women make up 40 percent of the fans.

Ackley said that as part of the effort to increase its reach, the league expanded into different regions in the country.

"There is a major difference to the cultural mind-set" between the South and say the West, he said.

Long before it became a fixture on television in the mid-1990s, NASCAR was mostly a Southern sport that courted those who grew up watching stock-car racing, he said.

The big wake-up call was when television ratings, which had been growing for almost a decade, dropped in 2006 and 2007.

NASCAR on ABC and ESPN dropped from a 5.2 share in 2005 to a 3.9 in 2007. A share represents the percentage of households tuned in.

In 2000, NASCAR had a 3.7 share when it was on NBC and TNT.

"That really struck a nerve with NASCAR," said Michael Smith, who covers NASCAR for the SportBusiness Journal, a sports industry newspaper.

The league "saw a need to re-establish with the fan who's been watching for 20 or 30 years," he said.

But a renewed interest in watching races on TV could hurt Richmond International Raceway, where next weekend's races have not sold out yet. If they don't, it would be the first time in 32 NASCAR events at the track.

While TV ratings are up, nationally race attendance this season is down 3 percent from last year.

Doug Fritz, president of RIR, is confident that the races next weekend will sell out.

Fans are buying tickets "later and later every year," he said.

NASCAR's Poston said reaching out to the core enthusiast is about more than just solidifying the fan base. It's about regrouping and strengthening an already solid sport.

"What's happened over the last 10 years is that there has been a tremendous amount of change in the sport. And with every change there has been adjustments," he said.

Changes include its major sponsor, track rules, more races in different regions of the country, bigger television contracts, off-track issues, and a growing number of new drivers as older favorites retire.

"The restructuring has been good," Poston said. "But it takes time for people to adapt. So we need to get back to the business of racing and hold the line on major changes."

The message for the change is coming from the top.

In his state-of-the-sport speech in January, Brian France, president and chief executive of NASCAR and grandson of its founder, said the sport needed to pay closer attention to its roots.

"Our sport is strong. We're determined to make it stronger and maintain the intense commitment of our generations of loyal fans. We'll continue to grow and evolve. We'll always be mindful of our past," he said.
Contact Louis Llovio at (804) 649-6348 or LLLovio@timesdispatch.com.