A plethora of northern Nevada companies
specialize in making custom
after-market parts for high-performance
racing vehicles, but the presence of professional
auto racing here otherwise
couldn't be more obscure.
Carson City is home to most of the
after-market firms. Accel, a major leader
in high-performance ignition devices;
United Engine and Machine, maker of
KB performance pistons; and T&D
Machine Products, which makes shaft
roller rocker arms that are often used in
drag or street performance race cars, are
just a few.
Bill Miller Engineering, another
Carson City-based operation, makes
forged aluminum connecting rods and
pistons. The company says Bobby
Labonte, the 2000 Winston Cup champion,
NASCAR's 2002 Winston Cup
champ, Tony Stewart, and the late Dale
Earnhardt all have used its aluminum
pistons.
Northern Nevada is currently home
to about nine racetracks, most of which
are small dirt tracks as well as paved
facilities at Reno's Desert Park and
Champion Speedway in Carson City.
But these courses are a far cry from
the massive 100,000-seat plus venues
that host races such as NASCAR's
Winston Cup series, which brings one of
the nation's most marketable professional
sports to 25 states around the country,
including Nevada.
"People in Vegas are interested in
money and tourism," said Terry
McPherson, who sponsors nevadaracing.
com, a web site dedicated to promoting
auto racing in northern Nevada.
"They saw an opportunity to build a big
track one of the biggest on the West
Coast. They saw it as a natural, and
they welcomed it."
And Las Vegas is laughing all the way
to the bank. According to the Las Vegas
Convention and Visitor's Authority, the
annual UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400
brings about 135,000 spectators to Las
Vegas Motor Speedway, 79,000 from out
of town. The result was a $74 million
non-gaming impact for the area, up
nearly 50 percent from the $40 million
impact in 1998, the speedway's inaugural
season.
It's a mystery why northern Nevada
hasn't jumped on the same boat,
McPherson added. He said Reno "seems
to shy away from [racing]" despite
potential good locations and enough
good weather to attract an annual event.
"Reno has a perfect location. There's
no track in northern California, Oregon,
Utah or Idaho," McPherson said. "The
tracks in southern California, Phoenix
and Vegas are all fairly close to one
another. If we had a race we could get
fans from at least six states."
But support for a racetrack in northern
Nevada has been less than overwhelming.
The public staunchly rejected a proposal
to build a track near the airport in
Stead because of worries about crowds
and traffic, said Laura Tuttle, manager of
planning for the City of Reno's community
development division.
The same neighborhood, however,
hosts the annual Reno Championship
Air Races, which brought over 220,000
people to the region in 2002 as well as
hundreds of high-flying aircraft buzzing
over spectators and communities.
"A professional race track [in Stead]
would have a negative impact on residents'
quality of life due to increased
traffic from the large numbers of people
over short periods of time," Tuttle speculated.
"I guess they're just used to the air
races."
The crowds that follow NASCAR
bring cash.
According to Firestone Langhorne, a
Washington, D.C. sports marketing
firm, 85 percent of NASCAR fans have
a high school diploma and have attended
some college.
Seventy percent have annual incomes
ranging from $30,000 to $50,000; 62
percent are married; 72 percent own
their own residence and 72 percent are
employed full time.
The Reno Sparks Convention and
Visitor's Authority, whose mission statement
is to promote business and tourism
throughout Washoe County, doesn't have
an official stand on bringing a racetrack
here.
An RSCVA spokesman said the
organization doesn't want to bank money
on special events "that can't guarantee
longevity or produce visitors," opting to
go for more convention business.
According to the RSCVA's 2001 marketing
report, conventions that year
accounted for over 335,000 room nights,
a 6 percent of the total room nights
available in Washoe County in a year. If
a NASCAR race attracting 79,000 visitors
was scheduled in the region, that
would account for nearly 2.5 percent of
the county's annual room nights.
RSCVA officials also noted that they
would need to secure a deal with a sponsor,
and the sponsor would have to guarantee
television coverage as well as a certain
number of fans.
According to a NASCAR report, the
average 30-second television spot during
a NASCAR race sells for $100,000. The
National Broadcasting Company, Turner
Broadcasting and FOX paid $2.4 billion
for six years of broadcasting rights of
NASCAR events. Some 72 percent of
NASCAR fans are loyal to their team's
brand. Major League Baseball, the
National Basketball Association and the
National Football League can only
muster up around 40 percent brand loyalty.
And NASCAR fans are willing to
pony up to support their favorites.
Action Performance Companies, Inc.,
the leading designer and manufacturer of
licensed motorsports merchandise,
reports its profits increased $83.5 million
in 2002 to $406.9 million that's up
nearly 20 percent from the previous year.
"I think racing is still trying to shed
its redneck image," Jeb Onweiler, the
new general manager at Carson City's
Champion Speedway. "That's totally
erroneous. It's all about family entertainment."
