If you ever watched a NASCAR race, one question quickly comes to mind: Was this sport created by car enthusiasts or by brilliant marketers? This is the only sport (and I use the term loosely) where the souvenirs and even the sport itself represent the sponsors more than the people involved in the sport.
To my knowledge, this the only sport where people would actually purchase an orange $500 leather jacket covered with Home Depot logos, while the term “NASCAR” is hidden on the inside tag. The sponsors of this sport have an ulterior motive in selling this paraphernalia than say the average Fortune 500 company buying a sign out in center field. The NASCAR sponsors are literally “allowing” people to pay to become walking billboards. In fact, it’s no wonder the drivers are awarded points for being in first place the most laps. Guess which car, I mean logo, is shown on TV the most?!
Why haven’t companies pushed other professional sports onto this strategy and to this extent? While the target audience might seem restricted to some, it’s actually quite diverse. I can’t speak for all readers out there, but I can’t wait to start wearing my Southwest Airlines blazer to the next family dinner.
Continual Improvement 
Say what you will but NASCAR,but it may be the most honest “sport” of all. It’s about providing entertainment and providing an avenue for sponsors to talk about their products. They don’t hide it. Contrast that with say the Olympics or College Football…
Yep, that’s true, and it doesn’t seem to hurt the popularity in any way. In fact, I read or heard that it is growing in popularity faster than any other major sporting event. Someone can fact check that, but I can tell you there aren’t many football stadiums that can pack in 250,000 people in a 3-4 hour period.
The crowds at those events are staggering. We live next door to the Texas Motor Speedway and the two events they hold every year shut down all traffic for the weekend. After the last race on 11/5, my wife was coming home at 11:00pm, what we thought was a safe time. All routes to our neighborhood shut down, they were turned into one-way roads leaving the event. Traffic on those roads was bumper to bumper and crawling. Our choices on those weekends are stay home or stay away.
Yep. Traffic is definitely an issue. I think that part of Fort Worth must completely gridlock during the big races, especially I-35.