From its modest origins in the Southern US, NASCAR has exploded to huge popularity across the whole country recently. From the inaugural races started in 1948 to this generation's NEXTEL Cup and Busch series, NASCAR has become arguably the leading spectator sport in The USA, featuring 75 million fanatical fans.

The NASCAR brand is now recognized worldwide as a preeminent sports property. More Fortune 500 firms utilize investment in NASCAR racing than any other sport. Landor Associates was quoted in December 2004 as stating “NASCAR was the #6 brand in 2004 and is forecast to be the #2 brand in 2005, in front of Google and iPod,”

Interestingly, 40% of current race fans are women and 53% work in white-collar or skilled labor jobs. And even with this variety, the statistics continue to be solid; annual attendance at raceways is upwards of 7 million and more than 275 million Americans view on television.

Those who report on the sport attribute several reasons to its’ success. Many years of history and a grass roots origin are some of the factors given for the sport’s growth. The lineage of the sport in the “bootlegging” days and the modest background of several of it’s first headliners seems to be attractive to followers in this day of the spoiled, babied, disrespectful pro athlete.

The NASCAR recipe is one that no other spectator sport utilizes. Weekly, the top teams (drivers) are battling directly against each other. Unlike, for example the NFL, where you may have to wait several weeks for that critical contest, at a NASCAR race, you can follow number 1 against number 2 every week. It’s almost like having the World Series of this sport every week.

Race buffs seem to have a huge desire for products that shows support for their favored driver, whether it is by donning NASCAR apparel, purchasing accessories for their car or pickup, or even decorating their house. NASCAR wall clocks, desk clocks, even throw blankets, bed sheets and wall tapestries are showing up in homes everywhere.

From little local tracks in the South, NASCAR is now big business today. Including TV revenues, sponsorship dollars, and licensed merchandise sales, NASCAR generates big bucks. NASCAR merchandise gross revenues now have exploded to surpass $2 billion per year and the markets continue to remain strong. This is built on a 250% increase from 1995 to 2004.

Within the huge NASCAR products market, robust sub markets turn up. NASCAR collectibles are large simply by themselves. A potpourri of products from plaques and autographed pics to diecast cars are snatched up, partially due to growth, but also in hope of growth in value for the collectables market.

Even though the NASCAR diecast marketplace has slowed down recently, it is still reasonable in strength. As drivers vary their paint schemes, it permits makers to expand the products several times over in this niche and that helps keep gross revenue going. So this sub market is far from dead.

Clothes such as NASCAR jackets, jerseys, t-shirts, etc appear to be thriving in popularity as product producers bring out expanded merchandise and are even including more higher value products like leather jackets and specialty products like jewelry. The true fanatic can even dress the entire household with fresh introductions of complete NASCAR kids clothing and youth lines.

Where will it all end? I don’t imagine we know, but when I see corporate secretaries getting into NASCAR hats and white collar managers getting into NASCAR shirts with photographs of “Junior” plastered on them, I question if there is a limit to this marketplace.

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