DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – NASCAR's stock has never been higher.
Television ratings climbed again last year and have more than doubled since the network deal with NBC and Fox began in 2001.
Demographic surveys show that 75 million Americans have some interest in stock car racing, with women accounting for 40 percent of the total.
Plus, more than half of NASCAR's fans fall between the ages of 18 and 44 and earn more than $50,000 – figures that warm the pocketbooks of those corporate executives filling NASCAR's coffers with sponsorships.
"The indicators are solid," NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France said recently while addressing the future of the family-owned enterprise.
The question is, where does NASCAR go from here? Where will the sport line up when the incredible growth of the last decade tapers off? And it must taper off at some point, right?
Can stock car racing ever gain that coveted niche as a "major sport"?
In some aspects, it already has as NASCAR prepares to open its 57th season with tomorrow's Daytona 500.
Nationwide television ratings are second – albeit by quite a distance – to the National Football League. Only the NFL and NCAA top NASCAR in licensing. And on-site attendance for races in the three major touring categories – Nextel Cup, Busch Series and Craftsman Trucks – approached 9 million last year.
In 1990, the net value of NASCAR was placed at about $1.5 billion. Fifteen years later, the value has been estimated at above $10 billion. Revenues from television and Nextel alone will approach $225 million this year.
NASCAR has expanded on all fronts. The Daytona Beach-based operation now has satellite offices in Los Angeles and New York as well as a research and development center in Concord, N.C. The media relations department that 20 years ago numbered one man and a secretary now has a staff of 20 full-time employees.
Certainly, NASCAR has eclipsed the National Hockey League among the majors. In many aspects, the National Basketball Association isn't that far ahead – although seldom is NASCAR discussed on talk radio.
But can NASCAR sustain its momentum? And in what direction?
Unlike other pro sports, NASCAR has little wiggle room in terms of expansion. The only thing it can add is races. But the schedule already eats up 38 weekends of the year. Throw in testing and the only free month is December.
One problem facing NASCAR is the number of existing tracks that want Nextel Cup races, not to mention the fact that NASCAR would like to expand into the Northwest and New York were suitable facilities available. The rule right now is that to add a race, you must take a race away from an existing track.
Which raises one of the threats facing the sport – the creation of a rival series. Bruton Smith, who controls Charlotte Motor Speedway and four other Nextel Cup tracks, has threatened in the past to launch a rival series. There are other available sites. No one ever thought the Indy Racing League could overthrow CART.
Plus, everyone wants a larger slice of the economic pie.
Some race teams would like to become franchises of NASCAR – like the Padres are of the National League. Franchising would give the teams value beyond the worth of their equipment and sponsorship contracts.
And Rusty Wallace this week raised the question of pensions for drivers. What about for crew chiefs and pit teams? Drivers unsuccessfully attempted to unionize in the mid-1960s. Could that happen again?
Meanwhile, empty seats did begin to appear at some venues last year. Is the market reaching saturation? Or is it the result of most tracks expanding their seating capacities?
NASCAR is looking to expand beyond our borders.
The Busch Series will run its first race in Mexico on March 6. Several tracks in Canada, where NASCAR has eclipsed Formula One and Champ Car racing as the highest-rated racing series on television, are eager suitors.
The international market could hold NASCAR's best potential for growth. Nextel Cup races are televised to 150 countries. And NASCAR souvenirs and products are licensed throughout Europe.
What's next?
Who knows? Twenty years ago, DiGard raised eyebrows when it paid a record $800,000 to sponsor a Winston Cup team. Today, the minimum major sponsorship deal is around $10 million – per car.
Bill France Jr., who drove NASCAR through much of its growth, was recently asked what he believed his father, NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., might say about NASCAR's boom.
"One thing I never heard him say was 'Let's slow this thing down, because we don't want it getting bigger than it is now,' " France said.
