February 19th
Sunday February 19th
The 48th Annual Daytona 500 was held today in Florida. It is considered to be NASCAR’s most prestigious and important race, has the largest purse, and starts the racing season. In recent years, NASCAR has been gaining popularity outside of it’s traditional southern US fan base. What started as a bunch of stock car drivers on dusty tracks has become a mega corporation, with important sponsors lining up to be involved. Television ratings have soared as well, and NASCAR has jumped into the top 4 of American professional sports (replacing hockey in the list that includes baseball, football, and basketball.)
Unfortunately, the area I live in (New York City/New Jersey) has been relatively untouched by this NASCAR mania. There are no big raceways nearby, and we already have a glut of professional sports teams, so it’s been hard for auto racing to break in. NASCAR’s offices are now in New York, to be closer to the major media outlets, and they have their award ceremony every year here, so they are picking up a bit of recognition, but it’s a long road ahead.
I don’t know much about NASCAR, but I do know that I admire the CEO, who comes from a long line of race team owners. I can’t name too many drivers, except for the legendary “King” Richard Petty, whose father won the first Daytona 500, and who has won the race himself a record seven times. I also know Jeff Gordon, who won the Daytona 500 in 2005 and has hosted “Saturday Night Live.” I’m sending all three of them letters to find out more about their great sport.
Brian France
Brian France was appointed chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of NASCAR on September 13th, 2003. France has had a diverse career at NASCAR, acting as a racetrack manager to help develop and manage the company's weekly and touring series divisions and launching the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 1995. He was also a key figure in getting NASCAR's new research and development facility off the ground. Since taking over the marketing of NASCAR, France has tripled the marketing, sales, licensing, and public relations staff and has been at the forefront of dramatic sponsorship involvement, attracting companies such as McDonalds and Kellogg. Advertising Age magazine ranked him among nation's top 100 marketers. He is the grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France.
Richard Petty
Richard Petty is most well-known for winning the NASCAR Championship seven times (Dale Earnhardt was the only other driver to accomplish this feat), winning 200 races during his career, and winning a record of 27 wins in the 1967 season alone (ten races in a row). He also collected a record number of poles (127) and over 700 top-ten finishes in his 1,185 starts, including 513 consecutive starts from 1971-1989. He also won seven Daytona 500s and nine Most Popular Driver awards. Petty is a second generation driver. His father, Lee Petty, won the first Daytona 500 in 1959 and was also a NASCAR champion. His son, Kyle Petty, is also a well-known NASCAR driver. Richard also owns the Richard Petty Driving Experience at Walt Disney World in Orlando. (That’s how I know him best.)
Jeff Gordon
Jeff Gordon made his first NASCAR Winston Cup start at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1992. Since that first race, he’s accumulated a total of 64 wins, including two Daytona 500’s (1997, 1999), three Brickyard 400’s (1994, 1998, 2001) and five Southern 500’s (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002). He’s also a four-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion. Gordon was born in Vallejo, CA and began racing quarter midgets when he was just five years old. He raced locally and on a national level, winning almost every race he entered. At age eight, he won his first quarter midget national championship. At age 13, he began racing sprint cars, and he became a professional stock car racer just a few years after graduating high school. Even those that don’t know racing know Jeff Gordon, as his face is plastered on everything from cereal boxes to soup cans. He is most emblematic of the “new generation” of drivers.
The 48th Annual Daytona 500 was held today in Florida. It is considered to be NASCAR’s most prestigious and important race, has the largest purse, and starts the racing season. In recent years, NASCAR has been gaining popularity outside of it’s traditional southern US fan base. What started as a bunch of stock car drivers on dusty tracks has become a mega corporation, with important sponsors lining up to be involved. Television ratings have soared as well, and NASCAR has jumped into the top 4 of American professional sports (replacing hockey in the list that includes baseball, football, and basketball.)
Unfortunately, the area I live in (New York City/New Jersey) has been relatively untouched by this NASCAR mania. There are no big raceways nearby, and we already have a glut of professional sports teams, so it’s been hard for auto racing to break in. NASCAR’s offices are now in New York, to be closer to the major media outlets, and they have their award ceremony every year here, so they are picking up a bit of recognition, but it’s a long road ahead.
I don’t know much about NASCAR, but I do know that I admire the CEO, who comes from a long line of race team owners. I can’t name too many drivers, except for the legendary “King” Richard Petty, whose father won the first Daytona 500, and who has won the race himself a record seven times. I also know Jeff Gordon, who won the Daytona 500 in 2005 and has hosted “Saturday Night Live.” I’m sending all three of them letters to find out more about their great sport.
Brian France
Brian France was appointed chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of NASCAR on September 13th, 2003. France has had a diverse career at NASCAR, acting as a racetrack manager to help develop and manage the company's weekly and touring series divisions and launching the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 1995. He was also a key figure in getting NASCAR's new research and development facility off the ground. Since taking over the marketing of NASCAR, France has tripled the marketing, sales, licensing, and public relations staff and has been at the forefront of dramatic sponsorship involvement, attracting companies such as McDonalds and Kellogg. Advertising Age magazine ranked him among nation's top 100 marketers. He is the grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France.
Richard Petty
Richard Petty is most well-known for winning the NASCAR Championship seven times (Dale Earnhardt was the only other driver to accomplish this feat), winning 200 races during his career, and winning a record of 27 wins in the 1967 season alone (ten races in a row). He also collected a record number of poles (127) and over 700 top-ten finishes in his 1,185 starts, including 513 consecutive starts from 1971-1989. He also won seven Daytona 500s and nine Most Popular Driver awards. Petty is a second generation driver. His father, Lee Petty, won the first Daytona 500 in 1959 and was also a NASCAR champion. His son, Kyle Petty, is also a well-known NASCAR driver. Richard also owns the Richard Petty Driving Experience at Walt Disney World in Orlando. (That’s how I know him best.)
Jeff Gordon
Jeff Gordon made his first NASCAR Winston Cup start at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1992. Since that first race, he’s accumulated a total of 64 wins, including two Daytona 500’s (1997, 1999), three Brickyard 400’s (1994, 1998, 2001) and five Southern 500’s (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002). He’s also a four-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion. Gordon was born in Vallejo, CA and began racing quarter midgets when he was just five years old. He raced locally and on a national level, winning almost every race he entered. At age eight, he won his first quarter midget national championship. At age 13, he began racing sprint cars, and he became a professional stock car racer just a few years after graduating high school. Even those that don’t know racing know Jeff Gordon, as his face is plastered on everything from cereal boxes to soup cans. He is most emblematic of the “new generation” of drivers.
posted by Chris Lucas | 11:17 PM
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