At its core, economics is all about how people make choices. Choices are necessary because we live in a world of scarcity. Even the richest among us have to decide how to allocate our resources. When it comes to racing there are several ways that the economy can have an effect on it. The economic downturn that began in the late 2000s and persisted through the early 2010s has revealed how much NASCAR relies on a healthy, growing economy.
When Jack Roush decides to have one less race team on the track, he does so not because he doesn’t like the team that is racing, but because fielding a race team is expensive. Mr. Roush has a lot of money, but he is limited to the number of teams he can put on the track. Race fans make choices too. We
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Those without a job will cut back on things they see to be unessential. Here is where NASCAR begins to feel the pinch. No matter how much you want to see a race, if you have a lack of funds, you cut the trip to Daytona out of the budget. That much we understand, but there are other forces at work that may impact the bottom line of NASCAR more than just those who are directly out of work.
As the unemployment rate rises, even those who have jobs begin to get a little nervous. Seeing their neighbors and co-workers losing their jobs makes the employed start to wonder, “Am I next?” Therefore, they are likely to cut back on extra spending as well. So, next year’s trip to Daytona gets cut from their budget, just in case. Ticket sales start to fall not only because the unemployment rate is rising, but also because people are feeling less secure in their finances.
As the unemployment rate was falling in the early 2000s, attendance was on the rise, but as the unemployment rate began to climb starting in 2008, attendance started to fall, and in 2010 we seen a drop below the 4 million-attendance mark for the first time since 2003. As people either lose their jobs, or fear losing their jobs, they don’t just cut back on trips to the track. They start to cut back on spending in other areas such as areas where the team sponsors feel it in their pocketbooks. Less spending by consumers means less income for the corporate sponsor, which means less spending by those sponsors on
One thing many economists agree on is the overall lack of effect sports can have on a city. Cities seem to be less impacted by a professional sports team because of things like opportunity costs, substitution effects, crowding out, and leakages (Baade, Baumann, Matheson, 2008, p. 797). These economists’ theory is that if there weren’t sports teams, people would still choose to spend money on other entertainment or attractions (Baade, Baumann, Matheson, 2008, p. 797). How the substitution effect works in sports is you imagine a city has a game, which supposedly tons of tourists and outsiders come to enjoy. These outsiders come for the specific event in which they are paying a good amount for, are not going to want to spend tons of money on other
To David Barton, the biggest race he has won would be The GatorNationals. This was a significant moment to david because it was a start of a new era. In his words, “ To some people winning indie is the biggest thing, but it doesn't compare to the GatorNationals in Florida, because it was the beginning of a new era of muscle cars.” This accomplishment was achieved from experience at Ray Barton Racing engines. In other words, by working in his dad's business. Racing has always been what David does. It’s what he grew up around. David has done this job full time since 16 or 17. This job was also his father's, Ray Barton.
Carroll Shelby,the inventor of mustang once said, Racing has reached the point where it is pricing the young driver, no matter his talent, out of the game.
Jimmy Johnson is an athlete because of the levels of competition and the challenges in NASCAR. Just like any other sport, NASCAR drivers are split into many teams. However, the teammates on these teams have to compete against each other. There are nineteen teams in NASCAR and each team ranges from one to four drivers. Not only is Jimmy Johnson put up against his own teammates, but he is also driving against forty-eight other drivers. Therefore, the level of competition in NASCAR goes far beyond that of a regular
“Racing is about discipline and intelligence, not about who has the heavier foot. The one who drives smart will always win in the end.”
He started from the bottom and now he is on top with the big dogs, Nascar is not just about left turns, there is a lot more than just that in the sport. It is about how much banking and routs to take on certain tracks, it is about the history of the sport. Drivers have to know when to pit and change tires, get more fuel and tell the pit crew to adjust the wedge. Nascar requires years and years of training, You also have to have sponsors to get a race car. In this paper you will find out what nascar is really about.
NASCAR has done a good job with its branding because according to Trendafilova fifty percent of the income comes from sponsorships (Trendafilova, 2014). NASCAR could have adapted to the unleaded gasoline a lot sooner, but this is not the reason for their economic downturn. The truth is that all sports had an economic downturn even coveted college football. The NCAA had to adapt to an un-eventful end of its season by implementing a college football playoff system which increases television rating for the last part of the season. This is important because NASCAR did this well before the NCAA by creating a new playoff system with two wild cards. The trouble is not with NASCAR branding. The trouble lies with the overall economy paired with the
“I think fear is what keeps us from going over the edge. I mean, as a race car driver, I don't think what makes a good race car driver is a fearless person. I think it's somebody that is comfortable being behind the wheel of something that's somewhat out of control.” -Jeff Gordon (brainyquote). Jeff Gordon has grown up around racing whether it was BMX, quarter-midget, or sprint car, he was always racing.
NASCAR should create a new racing series while creating a linkage of suppliers, vendors, buyer, and customers through informational, technological, social and structural linkages (Ferrell & Hartline, 2014). Intensive distribution should be utilized to offer as many sales opportunities as possible and gain exposure (Ferrell & Hartline, 2014). The new series should generate interest in new and existing fans while simultaneously converting other sports fans to watch and attend NASCAR events through the use of social media, advertisements, sponsorships, and endorsements.
challenges, however, are the most difficult ones to face and overcome. Some environmental issues that
For the attendance model, they used “attendance demand, like all demand, has well-known theoretical determinants. Among these determinants are income of the consumers, prices of tickets and of other goods and services, and preferences” (Hong et al., 2013). In conclusion of this study, the researchers estimated using the coincident indicators that economic downfall affected attendance by 6.5% instead of the 6.77% that was reported (Hong et al., 2013). Overall, this study shows the economic crisis with a decrease in attendance for those two years following 2007. One significant factor in sports is the possibility of strikes and the affect on attendance.
Often those who aren’t at the front lines don’t understand the issues being faced. The corporation must first understand the safety concerns the drivers face, and validate those concerns as legitimate. That would go a very long way to helping the drivers feel better about the corporation. Next, the corporation should scale back its qualifying all-cars against the clock decision. While exciting for the fans, the same action can be felt with fewer cars. The corporation should also find a way to work with the drivers so they know they are more than just assets to the company; they are actual people and are risking their lives for the corporation’s profit. I think once the relationship is mended between the corporation and the drivers, many of the other issues will fix themselves.
The more a sport becomes commercialized, the higher the cost of participating for the athlete. One example would be that there are entry fees established to help raise monies that will be awarded to the winner and the sponsoring company.
Additionally, the split was highly unsuccessful because the Motorsport that was once in high standing started to diminish and lacked appeal. Furthermore, the IRL needed to move away from its traditional approach to the sport and gain new ground and further promote the sport as entertaining, adventurous, and entice it as a sport for younger audiences as well. Tanier (2016) believes, the split was unsuccessful due to confused sponsors and partners, television networks, editors of sports pages, and fans began to gravitate to a more organized and growing in popularity, NASCAR. Furthermore, relevant and important sponsorships dried up and driver recognition descended. Meanwhile, CART began to buckle. All the while, major contributors such as Honda and Toyota bailed on CART. Moreover, they further had issues with sponsorship and major partnerships left. Many of these partnerships were vital to the sport in how they furnished vital parts such as the engines and technical support to the teams (Ferrell & Hartline, 2014). Even more enthralling, the IRL struggled to find corporate partners as a feeble economy and a broken market for open-wheel racing made both the IRL and CART less attractive to sponsors. Likewise, the sponsors no longer desired to be a part of an event that was failing and people hardly showed an interest in the actual sport. On top of that, the sponsors as well as the individuals that previously watched the sport focus shifted to a more organized
The intricacies that are involved in turning a regular car into a “Street Racer” are many; and racers pour their souls into these magnificent machines. After seeing “the Fast and the Furious” many people have or wanted to become involved in street racing. They do not realize that this is a sport that takes knowledge, hard work, and nerve. Many of these racers have spent their lives under a car, learning the trade and improving upon it. As I have learned, this is not just a hobby; it is a way of life.