Speedway does a lot! It owns and operates 12 racing facilities across the U.S., and it stages over 200 events a year (including 12 International events). It also owns and operates a 16-acre (6.4-hectare) training facility in Georgia. And that’s just the beginning. Speedway’s mission is to celebrate racing and all its glory through innovative programming that offers something for everyone.
How Does Speedway Operate?
Operating a sports and entertainment business requires a lot of behind-the-scenes work. Most notably, every week at each of the 12 facilities, there is a competition among the employees to see which group of drivers can qualify for the upcoming race. The person who earns the most points by the end of the week is the winner!
Each employee at Speedway has a part to play in this process, from the track executives and grounds crew to the security guards and parking lot attendants. Before each race, all of the employees meet at the media center to get a preview of the upcoming track and to decide on strategy. After the race, everyone meets at the end zone to see the results and cheer on the best employees who excelled that week.
What Type Of Racing Is Promoted By Speedway?
In addition to weekly employee competitions, the races at Speedway promote family-friendly entertainment and innovation. Most notably, the track stages weekly kids’ races on Friday afternoons. All of the employees, including the drivers, are encouraged to get involved, and many of them do. The races are open to all ages, and the kids have a ball!
Innovative programming is integrated into each event. For example, the Daytona 500 is the first race of the season, and every year the track stages a “warm-up’” race – the Budweiser “Sprint Cup” – to get the vehicles ready for the big race. In between the Budweiser “Sprint Cup’” races are “Chase’” qualifying races for the main event. In these qualifying races, the vehicles are driven on a similar course, but this time without any fans or anyone else around to distract them. The person who earns the most points after these races is the winner!
Another example of innovative programming is the “Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’” Night Race, an event that is part of the Triple Crown Tour. Similar to the “Sprint Cup’” races, the “Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’” Night Race is a qualifying race for the main event. However, this race is held at night, and the only illumination is provided by the lightning bugs and other insects that populate this beautiful part of the country during the summer months.
What About The Ownership Of The Tracks?
Just because Speedway owns and operates 12 tracks around the U.S. doesn’t mean that it is the only owner of a NASCAR racing facility. Many tracks are also owned by individual track owners or local business interests. In terms of ownership, there is a wide variety of options, including:
- Richard Childress (Raleigh, North Carolina)
- Jackie Childress (Raleigh, North Carolina)
- Graveyard Racers (Spartanburg, South Carolina)
- Jason Keller (Meadows Ridge, North Carolina)
- Bryan Watts (Charlotte, North Carolina)
- Coyote Valley Stables and Racing (Tupelo, Mississippi)
- Victory Motorcycle Club (Winston-Salem, North Carolina)
- Kumho Tire (Union City, Tennessee)
- RacerStar Inc. (Auburn, Alabama)
- Steve Olander (Louisville, Kentucky)
- and many others
The point is that, for the love of racing, there are a lot of different ways to own a NASCAR track!
Does Speedway Promote Driving Prowess Naturally?
Yes! That’s right – the drivers who qualify for the biggest races in NASCAR all earn their spots by winning a series of weekly competitions at smaller tracks. In fact, over 80% of the drivers who compete in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series have won at least one race before they even stepped into a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car.
There are a variety of reasons why this happens. First of all, the smaller the track, the more dangerous it is to drive there. It’s not like they don’t know how to drive on the track – they do – but the conditions are different, and make for a lot of crashing and burning. Second, the employees at the smaller tracks are more involved in the action, which means they have a better idea of how hard their coworkers are driving and vice versa. Third, the fans at the smaller tracks are usually more engaged with the drivers and team owners than they are at the bigger tracks, which means the drivers can engage with the audience more naturally.
How Is NASCAR Regulation Different At Different Tracks?
NASCAR is a rules-based sport, which means that the behavior of the drivers and the compliance with the rules is of paramount importance. The tracks can and do have different interpretations of the rules, and they enforce the rules in different ways. For example, a track like Talladega Superspeedway, which is known for its heavy winds and rough patches of asphalt, enforces the rules more strictly than other tracks. This is because they want the races to go as fast as possible without any distractions – like fans or other vehicles.
Why Is NASCAR So Important?
NASCAR is important because it’s the largest sporting league in the United States. It’s also the premier series in racing, and it generates a lot of revenue through advertising and sponsorships. With over 950 million viewers annually, it would be foolish to ignore NASCAR‘s popularity.
In terms of revenue, in 2018, NASCAR and its corporate partners brought in over $12 billion in revenue, which was up from $11.1 billion in 2017 and $10.7 billion in 2016.
As a premier series, NASCAR sets the bar higher for the other sports leagues and for business people who are involved in any kind of sporting event or business venture. In 2019, the Atlanta Braves were one of the many businesses who saw the importance of racing and invested in NASCAR’s “Drive for Diversity’” initiative, which aims to increase the number of women and minorities who participate in motorsports. The Atlanta Braves teamed up with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to create this program, which will see minority students train to be drivers or crew chiefs, or work with them on an advisory basis. Through this program, the Atlanta Braves will be able to add a new dimension to their fanbase, which would be great for business.
Finally, if you’re looking for a professional sports league to invest in, why not invest in NASCAR?