The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
July 8th, 2014
Volume VIII, Edition CIX
Top News
~~~~~~~~~~
GOT A NASCAR QUESTION OR COMMENT? WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
That's right; our Fan Q & A column is back once again in 2014. Send your question Summer Bedgood's way at summer.bedgood@frontstretch.com and if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print on Thursday when she does her weekly column. It's all part of our daily mission to give back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat!
~~~~~~~~~~
It's Time for a New NASCAR Storefront at the Track
This past week, NASCAR announced that it is looking into revamping souvenir row -- the collection of colorfully decaled semis that sell the T-Shirts of your favorite drivers, appearing at each Sprint Cup event throughout the season.
My first gut reaction was, "Oh no! Not the haulers!" I do enjoy taking time on Friday or Saturday to meander around, looking for a unique item to add to my ever-expanding collection of NASCAR memorabilia. Each truck would contain something special related to the representative team, and the mile of walking to reach all the corners of souvenir row was always worth the hike in the heat. But hey, I just returned from Michigan a few weeks ago with nothing but a Michigan Moose and a fridge magnet. What happened? Where's the pile of new T-shirts and assorted diecasts? Oh, that's right. I did buy one T-shirt. I paid $3 for a discontinued Ricky Stenhouse one. Otherwise, my wallet stayed closed. Why is that?
Ever since Motorsports Authentics bought out all the haulers at the track, selection has become... dismal.
If you'd like a stuffed dog for your kid, you only have to decide which team number it should have on its shirt. You won't find a different puppy at each hauler. The No. 18 sells the same one as the No. 24 as the No. 99 as the No. 55. This uniformity applies to hats, shirts, keychains, etc. Simply replace the team number and car driver on each graphic and you've got the merchandise available at this trailer versus the next. It's beyond disheartening, a lack of variety that certainly has to contribute to the downward spiral of NASCAR keepsake sales for every team that signs a contract.
If I want something special, I must head over to each driver's personal website, where you may or may not find apparel available at any other retailer. However, there will be a premium price applied for the Fan Club-only wear, driving up the cost of following a favorite. And there is a limit on how much my card can take... honest!
I used to look at souvenir row as a NASCAR mall, lots of little different stores all lined up for my personal retail therapy session. Now it is like entering a Simon's Mall with only JCPenney's, over and over again. Why bother to walk around except for the fact that I want a Jeff Gordon shirt, not Kyle Busch. Nowadays, I look at T-shirt shopping as more of a long walk with minimum pleasure associated with it. I don't even like most of the designs.
So if NASCAR wants to discard the haulers in favor of a single or a couple of large tent stores, that offer up all the stuffed dogs in one pile, where I only have to dig in the bin to find the team number I want, I'm all for the revamping of my retail experience. However, if the sport ever wants to regain a little bit of their "shopper's paradise" glory days, they might be shocked at my suggestion: diversify the suppliers.
By having only Motorsports Authentics produce and sell the souvenirs, we've lost the depth of creativity and originality that used to mark the wonder of shopping at the track. Nothing looked the same! Diecast varied in craftsmanship from team to team. Maybe I wasn't a huge Roush fan, but they had the best cars, so I'd buy a couple. Maybe Jeff Gordon had boring shirts that year, but I couldn't turn away from something I spied at the No. 42 hauler. My house and wardrobe were plastered with an ever-evolving NASCAR brand. No longer. Days go by when I am sponsor-free.
So yes, it's time that NASCAR looked at their marketing program in this area. Changes should be made. Perhaps all the money they save in driving 22 mini-stores around the nation can be diverted into paying for a few more options instead. I like coming home with bulging shopping bags but right now, I can't remember the last race where that happened.
2014 Sonya Strictly by the Stats
Top Three Rookies for 2014 Coke Zero 400
1.) No. 3 Austin Dillon - Started 23th, Finished 5th*
2.) No. 23 Alex Bowman - Started 43rd, Finished 13th*
3.) No. 7 Michael Annett - Started 32nd, Finished 21st
* - Career Bests at the Sprint Cup level
Numbers Game: Coke Zero 400
by Tom Bowles
0
Laps led by second-place finisher Brian Vickers. He's led a total of just 38 laps all season.
1
Top-5 finish for Casey Mears this season, a fourth at Daytona, which is his first at the Cup level since he was driving for Hendrick Motorsports in 2008.
2
Top-10 finishes by Austin Dillon this season, both at Daytona.
2
Laps led by four-car Hendrick Motorsports Sunday.
5
Laps led by underdog Landon Cassill, driving the No. 40 of Hillman Racing Sunday. The twists and turns of Daytona…
16, 26
The number of cars involved in each "Big One" at Daytona.
36
Laps led by Kurt Busch, the most of any driver before ultimately finishing third. Busch remains winless in his career at plate races (Daytona and Talladega).
30
Years since Richard Petty last won a Cup Series race. Petty's No. 43 beat Cale Yarborough to the line, in a thrilling Duel with President Ronald Reagan in attendance to win the 1984 Firecracker 400 at Daytona. It had been 15 years since Petty had been in Victory Lane with the No. 43 car, when John Andretti captured a race at Martinsville in 1999.
112
Laps out of 160 completed before NASCAR ultimately ended the Coke Zero 400 early due to rain.
124
Career Cup starts for Aric Almirola before notching his first career Cup win in start number 125.
$122,770
Money won by underdog team Michael McDowell for finishing a career-best 7th.
$127,176
Money won by defending Cup champ Jimmie Johnson for wrecking out early and finishing 42nd.
ADVERTISEMENT
Are you looking to advertise your website, product or brand? A good way to get your name out there is via direct advertising here in the Frontstretch Newsletter! Interested parties can contact us at frontstretcheditors@googlegroups.com for details.
~~~~~~~~~~~
TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: The 1996 Jiffy Lube 300 at then-New Hampshire International Speedway is best known as the race in which Ernie Irvan got back to Victory Lane for the first time since his near-fatal crash at Michigan in August, 1994. For John Andretti, the race was definitely one to forget. What put him out for the day?
Check back Wednesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Monday's Answer:
Q: The 1994 Slick 50 300 at Loudon is known for being Ricky Rudd's first victory as an owner-driver, and for the 17 cautions that plagued the race. Jeff Gordon was an early contender that day, but failed to make the finish. What happened?
Coming tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Ashley McCubbin
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
~~~~~~~~~~
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Open Wheel Wednesday by the Frontstretch Staff
Amy steps up with 1,2,3,4,5 reasons you should be concerned about something going on in NASCAR this week.
NASCAR Mailbox by Summer Bedgood
Summer returns for her weekly session of answering questions from you, our loyal fans. Do you have a question or comment for Summer? Don't be shy. Just send her an email (summer.bedgood@frontstretch.com) and you might just see your name in print!
NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After Daytona compiled by Michael Mehedin
Hendrick Motorsports continues to hold on to the top-3 spots in points despite their three best drivers being involved in wrecks on Sunday. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that they're absolutely the best three drivers out there.. How did Sunday's action affect the rankings? Find out how your favorite national experts voted, laughing along with their one-liners in the latest update of our weekly NASCAR poll.
Got something to say about an article you've seen in the newsletter? It's as easy as replying directly to this message or sending an email to editors@frontstretch.com. We'll take the best comments and publish them here!
©2014 Frontstretch.com
--
Feel free to forward this newsletter if you have any friends who loves
NASCAR and great NASCAR commentary. They can subscribe to the Frontstetch by visiting http://www.frontstretch.com/notice/9557/.
If you want to stop your Frontstretch Newsletter subscription, we're sorry
to see you go. Just send an email to
TheFrontstretch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com from the address that you
recieve the Frontstretch Newsletter.
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Frontstretch" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to thefrontstretch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
No comments:
Post a Comment