Why NASCAR needs Danica Patrick
Danica Patrick is reportedly negotiating a switch of her driving allegiance to NASCAR. And with declining ratings and attendance, NASCAR could use a little of Patrick's star power. Joel Rose reports.
IndyCar driver Danica Patrick (Chris Trotman/Getty Images)
More on Marketing - Advertising, Sports
Links
TEXT OF STORY
Steve Chiotakis: Finally, IndyCar driver Danica Patrick is reportedly negotiating a switch of her driving allegiance to NASCAR. It would be a bigger stage for Patrick, and a big coup for stock-car racing. Joel Rose reports.
Joel Rose: Danica Patrick is the first woman to win an IndyCar event. But she's at least as well known for her exploits off the track, like a series of racy commercials for GoDaddy.com:
Man: Ms. Patrick?
Danica Patrick: Yes I've enhanced!
Crowd: Gasp! Ms. Patrick!
Patrick: It's true: I've enhanced my image with a domain name and a web site from GoDaddy.com.
NASCAR officials may be hoping Patrick will enhance their image, too.
Larry DeGaris teaches sports marketing at the University of Indianapolis. He says after a decline in ratings and attendance this year, NASCAR could use Patrick's star power more than ever:
Larry DeGaris: If you can bring more big-name sponsors on board who are gonna put money behind leveraging their relationship with Danica, that's good for the sport on several levels.
Marketing executives say Patrick could bring millions of dollars in new sponsorships.
I'm Joel Rose for Marketplace.
Comments
Comment | Refresh
06/11/2009
Since this story is using reports, who exactly is she negotiating with on the NASCAR side? Which team owner in NASCAR has an open ride for her right now. Not Hendrick. Not at Childress or Petty either Certainly not Roush, heck he needs to get rid of a team by NASCAR rules before the 2010 season begins. Gibbs does, but her in a start-up team with need to qualify for races? Earnhardt Ganassi yes. they were a 4 car team, now down to 2, and Truex is all but gone, so it doesn't make sense.
It'd be nice to see a little more factual information in these stories.
Post a Comment: Please be civil, brief and relevant.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. All comments are moderated. Marketplace reserves the right to edit any comments on this site and to read them on the air if they are extra-interesting. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting.
You must be 13 or over to submit information to American Public Media. The information entered into this form will not be used to send unsolicited email and will not be sold to a third party. For more information see Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.