By Al Hoff
Legend has it that stock car racing grew out of moonshining, out of the races those bad boys in souped-up hot rods had with the law. In the 1930s and 1940s, stock car races were disorganized, staged haphazardly with arbitrary rules and purses that rarely materialized. But a mechanic from Daytona Beach, Florida, “Big Bill” France Sr., recognized the sport’s potential. In 1948, France formed the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing to unite pro racers under one governing body whose rule was law, one that could guarantee the prizes and declare a definitive champion.
NASCAR’s press kit purrs, “As the sport has grown, our fan base has moved toward premier marketing demographics.” It’s not a bunch of yee-hawing good ol’ boys watching Carolina grease monkeys tear up dirt tracks anymore. NASCAR is urban, suburban, women, kids, MBAs, computers, Madison Avenue, and plenty of disposal income.
Racing T-shirts are profusely illustrated front and back, from neck to hem, armpit to armpit, in kaleidoscopic swirls of race cars, corporate logos, driver’s heads, slogans, numbers, statistics, dates, times, and locations. Most shirts cite a single driver, racetrack, and date, and by midmorning, plenty of fans are already decked in brand-new shirts commemorating today’s race.
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Judging by apparel, Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, and Rusty Wallace have captured the most fans, with Gordon especially popular among the women and kids. NASCAR swears 39 percent of its fans are women, and the crowd seems to confirm it. Most of the women are coupled with men, but intriguingly, while united in affection or marriage, according to their T-shirts the gals aren’t beholden to their man’s driver.
In a sport where most of the top racers are over 40, Gordon, at 27, has already won two championships (1995 and 1997) and by the Pepsi 400 is well on his way to a third. He’s the most popular driver in the sport and the media adore him.
Such economics leave the racer beholden to his fans to buy merchandise. Skill and performance matter, but a driver has to make fans feel like part of his team, loyal enough to buy countless T-shirts and knick-knacks. There are plenty of other drivers a racing fan can adopt.
