While I've been done with Danica as a novelty act since the day it was announced she was coming to NASCAR, I'm not sure I'll attribute it to The Waltrip Mentality.
TV coverage for racing transformed for me in early 2001. Sure, the death of Earnhardt was THE story of that period and for months to come. But a couple of other things happened. Early in the year, FOX used generic graphics for the car numbers on their crawl. Fans inexplicably lost their ever-loving, short-sighted minds. They demanded FOX return to using graphics that matched the designs of the actual numbers on the cars as had been done by ESPN, TBS, TNN, etc. Otherwise, it was a sign FOX wasn't "all in" with NASCAR and its fan base.
Then that spring, Cracker Barrel sponsored the Atlanta race. They sponsored the race - not the telecast. FOX didn't get a cut of the action as ad revenue; therefore, they didn't name drop Cracker Barrel throughout the afternoon. Again, fans and viewers launched into a frothy frenzy.
Within a race or two, FOX and NASCAR execs met. It seemed from that point forward FOX's production efforts were again in lockstep with the NASCAR message. And that has been pretty much the case for the following 14 or so years.
NASCAR defines its 'stars'. Sure, on-track performance will ultimately make it easier for fans to latch onto a fave. But when that isn't happening, NASCAR is more than willing to leverage its TV 'partner' or its limited media corps to do its bidding.
"We need to expand racing to the Hispanic community."
"But we don't have a Hispanic driver."
"Go get one. How about that Montoya guy. He's available I've heard."
"But he isn't Hispanic. He is from South America."
"Ah, no one will care. Get him anyway and DEMAND it be reported he is for the Hispanics."
Don't get me wrong. Montoya had plenty of racing credentials. And quite frankly, he did OK I suppose in his limited time in NASCAR - certainly better than some other recent crossovers. But he wasn't Hispanic.
Same is true for Danica. She had one good run at Indy. She was attractive. She had already begun to attract a marketing vibe exclusive of racing. So in that respect, I don't blame NASCAR or her for wanting to maximize the opportunity. But when it turned out that she has been more like Dario and Hornish vs. Foyt and Montoya, the marketing emphasis continued. And a lot of that was driven by the FOX suits via a strong emphasis from the Beach suits.
Around 92-93, a buddy of mine and I took a rookie with us to Talladega. He knew little about racing and didn't have a favorite. He was from Owensboro and said "Isn't there a guy named Waltrip from there?" My bud and I looked at each other, smiled and chirped up "Yep, Michael."
At the track, we took him to the souvenir trailers in the hopes they could drain his wallet for Michael gear. (Good friends we were, huh?) We searched high and low for a bright yellow Pennzoil trailer without success. Finally, we asked at a Kyle Petty Mello Yello trailer. I'll never forget the reply as the guy told us there was no MW trailer. He said "Ya know, Michael's got some good looking stuff. He just ain't got any fans." Of course, we roared - though our bud got easy by not having to buy any shirts, hats, etc.
Fast forward 20+ years, and on-track results have little to do with whether one has a merch hauler or not. For her Nationwide and first 2 Cup years, I shook my head in amazement about how many folks were buying her products.
The 2 decades that have elapsed have also shown what Kyle Petty says frequently. NASCAR is no longer a sport - it's a business. The Frances make boocoodles of money from having Danica in their camp - regardless of where she places. And they want to keep that cash stream flowing - and are clearly willing to hold FOX's and ESPN's feet to the fire to make that happens.
If the GoDaddy departure means Danica will be sponsor-challenged - meaning her merch sales might decline - they'll quickly dump the hype. If a replacement sponsor isn't named by Darlington, my bet is we'll hear less of her on TV - an indication NASCAR has moved on to plans for over-milking another possible cash cow.
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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
