NASCAR Then and Now - Ben White [9]
Today’s crowd sports a wide variety of colorful hats and T-shirts, most of them officially licensed NASCAR merchandise that fans wear to display their unshakable allegiance to their favorite drivers.
Supporting Your Driver
During NASCAR’s early days, fan loyalty was more often based on nameplates than on faces and personalities. Those who grew up washing and waxing Chevrolets wouldn’t consider having a Ford in the garage, nor would those loyal to Dodge think of having a Pontiac around back. Bill France understood this, and during the sport’s early years he catered to these passions with the NASCAR Strictly Stock division.
But times have changed. The variety of automotive choices—both American-made and foreign-built—has watered down some of that brand allegiance. Today, your typical NASCAR fan is more likely to be devoted to a particular driver than the brand of car he drives. The reasons why fans gravitate toward certain drivers are as varied as the personalities of the fans themselves. Some fans like drivers who wear their emotions on their sleeve; others prefer wheelmen who are always cool under pressure. Some may admire the amazing achievements of four-time champs Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, while others root for the nearly men like Mark Martin and Jeff Burton. Whatever the reason, when fans attend a Sprint Cup race, it’s their chance to express their support for their chosen driver. Whether crude or creative (or both), NASCAR fans know how to get their point across—and have fun doing it.
Equipped with only a fitted sheet (possibly from a camper bed) and thick black marker, a fan urges Cale Yarborough to stand on the throttle.
With pit pass in hand and decked out in the sponsorship colors of her favorite driver, this Michael Waltrip fan is standing just outside the garage area at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July 2007. Waltrip’s friendly demeanor and great sense of humor have always made him a fan favorite.
Fans sitting outside the garage area at Indianapolis Motor Speedway convey some personal messages to their favorite drivers.
Show Your Colors
Like fans of any college or professional sport, the NASCAR faithful display their allegiance to their favorite driver or team with officially licensed apparel. The range of products available to the modern fan boggles the mind: from caps, T-shirts, sweatshirts, and jackets to underwear, dog leashes, jewelry, and just about anything else one might imagine. It wasn’t always this way. Not until the late 1970s did NASCAR start to take advantage of fan interest by offering its trademark to merchandisers. The result has been a huge industry, bringing in millions of dollars each year to NASCAR, drivers, teams, and sponsors. In return, sporting the colors of their favorite driver allows NASCAR fans to feel a special connection to them.
Before the days of official merchandise, fans had to come up with their own ways to show their support—or, in this case, lack of support—for certain drivers. In this picture from the 1980s, a fan is sporting a T-shirt with a few choice words for Dale Earnhardt, whose aggressive style didn’t always sit well with some.
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Jeff Gordon would surely feel complimented by the outfit worn by this young fan at Talladega Superspeedway in 2008. Today, outfits that resemble drivers’ suits are popular with youngsters, many of whom dress up as their favorite driver for Halloween trick or treating. This apparel looks equally at home at the racetrack.
When it comes to fan loyalty and merchandising power, no one can match NASCAR’s most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Here a father and son are sporting their Dale Jr. gear, evidence that driver loyalty is often passed from one generation to another.
Souvenirs and Officially Licensed Products