Nascar's Fancy New Band-Aid
A thought from the Back Porch:
Little kids love band-aids and can you blame them? These days you can
get a band-aid featuring almost any super hero or cartoon character
your heart desires. Kids sport them with pride and will try to prolong
the life of that band aid as much as possible, constantly reapplying it
and on occasion even adding tape for extra support as it struggles to
hold on for dear life. The problem is band-aids have a short life
expectancy; it’s a short-term solution and after a few days of
playgrounds, finger paint, and bathtubs, even the strongest Spiderman
bandage will give way to the dirt and grime of life.
NASCAR is bleeding. Tracks aren’t selling out, TV ratings
are down, and maybe worst of all, their once passionate fan base seems
to be turning more lukewarm with every passing race. In these
struggling times NASCAR finds itself in desperate need of some medical
attention.
Enter the Danica Patrick band-aid.
This week the rumors have swirled about a possible future for Patrick on the Nationwide Series. According to ESPN.com’s Marty Smith,
Patrick is very close to signing a deal with Dale Earnhardt Jr’s JR
Motorsports, which would allow her to race around twelve Nationwide
events, while maintaining her full time IndyCar status.
So is this the much-needed help NASCAR needs to revive itself?
With the sport facing the tough economic realities and with sponsorship
dollars consistently becoming harder to come by, the Danica Patrick
stimulus package seems very appealing. She is by far the most well
known of any IndyCar driver despite have a resume containing only a
single victory. Let’s face it, she’s extremely marketable and just by
spending a few moments on her website
it's clear she has no problem using her sex appeal, rather than winning
percentage, in peddling the latest gadgets. Watch a few hours of TV
today and you’ll no doubt encounter her attempting to sell you Internet
space or antifreeze at least once. With current NASCAR sponsors
becoming far less willing to throw money towards young developing
drivers, Patrick’s media savvy surly has plenty of owners hearing cash
registers go off in their heads.
But do sponsorship dollars and marketability automatically equal a rise
in fan interest? Are fans going to be content watching Patrick go
through the normal struggles any open wheeled driver faces when making
the transition to stock cars, just because she looked nice selling them
that five dollar footlong? Or, will her over exposure and under
performance create a backlash, which could possibly be more detrimental
than helpful to the sport?
Bringing in Patrick will undoubtedly bring attention and create an
initially interest surge for NASCAR, possibly even in some untapped
markets. It may also create some short-term revenue relief, but
expecting Danica to be much more than a band-aid for a sport with some
pretty major wounds would be misguided.
Remember, no matter how cool that Dora the Explorer band-aid looks,
it’s going to eventually fall off and your problem will still be there.