NASCAR is for sale: Will there be any takers?
News item: NASCAR is up for sale.
As first reported by Reuters and confirmed by other sources, the France family has enlisted investment bank Goldman Sachs to explore a possible sale of a majority stake of the sanctioning body.
The question now becomes “will there be any takers?”
NASCAR has indeed been devalued, especially over the past five years, as sponsors have dropped out, fans have stayed home, people haven’t watched on TV, and its last iconic hero, Dale Earnhardt Jr., has bailed because he feared for his life.
Having spent over a decade covering the sport in a previous professional incarnation, I feel badly for the many good folks in the insular loop caught up in this uncertainty.
Having spent over a decade covering the sport in a previous professional incarnation, it is anything but surprising.
The reasons as to why the France family wants to bail on a third-generation family-owned business are multi-layered.
A good bit of it has to do with Brian France, NASCAR’s CEO and chairman. France has often times been aloof, absent from tracks, unavailable to the media, and strange (Google his presentation to Earnhardt in the NASCAR awards ceremony last December).
He has lost many traditional fans for his constant tweaking of the playoff system.
His grandfather Bill France Sr. started the sport out of Daytona Beach in 1948, and his father, Bill France Jr., carried the torch after his passing. The sport thrived during those days, but times are a changing.
Money drives everything of course, and it’s drying up in NASCAR.
Tracks across the country have reported a combined attendance revenue decline of 54 percent over the past decade.
Monster Energy, NASCAR’s title sponsor, renewed its contract for only a year, after getting a highly discounted rate to replace Sprint. NASCAR’s deal with Monster called for $20 million a year, compared to the $50 million and $75 million annual deals cut with Sprint.
Longtime sponsors such as Home Depot and Lowe’s have left the sport, seeking better marketing value elsewhere.
The stars are leaving the building. Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Earnhardt have all retired in recent years. Earnhardt left at the end of the 2017 season, fearful that another concussion could leave him permanently impaired.
The sport also suffered because Danica Patrick — the polarizing queen of the sport — left after 2017 season as well because she could never find her competitive groove. She attracted eyeballs to the sport, something it desperately needs.
With these distressing dynamics in play, it will be interesting to see how this plays out, and just how much value the Frances can get to agree to let go of their family-run business.
You could spin this is a positive way and suggest that a new dynamic will alter NASCAR’s downward trajectory.
Or you can go to the dark side, and scream, “Buyer beware.”