The Voices of NASCAR

The opinion leaders in NASCAR have shifted greatly over the life of the sport. An opinion leader is an individual who has social influence over others (Marketing the Core, Kerin & Hartley). When you look at NASCAR, there have been many drivers who have had influence on the sport and on the fans and this has impacted the sport greatly. I will discuss how the opinion leaders of the fans have shifted throughout NASCAR’s history and how the opinion leaders within the sport has helped to change the sport to what it has become today.

From NASCAR’s inception, it is clear that it has a huge opinion leader with Richard Petty. Petty has a record 200 wins and is tied with two other drivers for the most championships at 7. Petty has had strong influence on NASCAR and marketing to its fans. Petty was sponsored by STP in his famous #43. Since he did so well in his career, he is well respected by almost all the fanbase.

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When Petty’s career slowed, Dale Earnhardt Sr. came in as the fan favorite. Known as the Intimidator, Sr. made his presence known on and off the track in his #3 black Chevrolet Monte Carlo. He had great influence on the fans as he compiled 76 wins with 7 championships. Dale Sr. would make commercials for Monte Carlo, Wrangler, and Goodwrench. All these sponsors would stick with him throughout his career and his fans would stick with those sponsors as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2Irqc5Udmg

Dale Sr. lost his life suddenly on a last lap crash of the 2001 Daytona 500. When this happened, the racing community was distraught and did not really know what to do. The racing community knew one thing, the Earnhardt name. After the tragedy, most of his fan base stuck with the Earnhardt last name and decided to pull for his son, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. has had a strong influence on the racing community as you can hear the crowds go crazy whenever he takes the lead or gets a win. As 15 consecutive time Most Popular Driver driving the famous Budweiser #8 and AMP Energy #88, he was a huge spokesperson for Budweiser, AMP, and the sport.

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Alongside Jr. is Jeff Gordon who has had a strong impact on the sport. Sponsored by DuPont, Axalta, and AARP in the famous #24, Gordon compiled 93 wins and 4 championships. Gordon appeared in many commercials with his sponsors and for NASCAR. He also changed the sport from being mostly a southern sport to a more nationalized and corporate sport.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McI4SuA_xK0

Danica Patrick had a huge influence on the fan base as well. She had 7 top 10s in her career and a pole in her rookie season in 2013 for the Daytona 500. Patrick has had a great influence on female racecar drivers and is looking to retire from NASCAR after the Daytona 500 on Sunday.

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These three drivers have had great influences on the sport and as Gordon retired after the 2015 season and Jr. after the 2016 season, there has yet to be someone as influential as these drivers within the sport for the fanbases.

With the 2018 season just beginning, NASCAR is looking to see who their next most influential driver will be. There are many rookies and young drivers who can take over the sport as well as seasoned veterans such as Jimmie Johnson who has had great success within his career. As NASCAR looks for their Most Popular Driver for the fanbase, they also have influential drivers in the Drivers Council.

The Drivers Council is key to new ideas and information for NASCAR. Before the 2017 NASCAR season, the drivers knew that they needed to make a change to make the racing better. They looked at some of the fans’ suggestions as well as brought up some of their own suggestions to make the racing better. There is no better person to come up with ideas about racing than those who participate within it every week. The Drivers Council has definitely made an impact on the sport of NASCAR and the racing. The stage racing is creating more exciting races throughout instead of just the end. The new points system is helping to crown a champion more over the whole season then the previous 10 race playoffs. They have also been advocates for cars with very little downforce so that the drivers have to wheel the car more. The Drivers Council continue to have strong influence on the sport of NASCAR and they look to continue to make the sport better in the coming years.