Will Trevor Bayne ever catch Danica Patrick?
I’m not talking about on the track. Bayne, the 2011 Daytona 500 winner, already has won more big races than the open-wheeler
turned fendered-car diva.
But it’s incomprehensible that Bayne essentially has no Web site. You can go to TrevorBayne.com, but all you see is
a snazzy photo of the 20-year-old, a proclamation of his Daytona triumph and a promise that his Web site will be coming soon.
Wow, what a missed opportunity. I wonder how many people have gone to that site looking for more information on the youngest
winner of the Daytona 500 ever since his improbable victory Feb. 20.
I bet his sponsors would have appreciated a shout out in that space. And who knows how many prospective sponsors have been
turned off by this lack of marketing preparedness.
I know Bayne knows all about marketing and sponsor promotions. After all, a video of him as a seven-year-old kart racer thanking
his sponsors has made its way from YouTube to network TV.
Maybe all this fame has caught Bayne and his handlers (assuming he has any) by surprise. But it’s been nearly two weeks
since his Daytona triumph, and still no Web site.
All the while, NASCAR continues to use the boy wonder as their poster child in TV, radio and print ads. So much for maximizing
an opportunity to bring in the younger audience.
Which brings us to Patrick, one of the most marketed if not most famous drivers in open-wheel history. She certainly knows
how to maximize opportunities and assets.
Patrick has outsold all other open-wheel drivers in terms of fan merchandise three consecutive years. Any marketer would
say that’s more than a fluke, and certainly more than being an attractive woman in a male-dominated sport.
Patrick, love or hate the way in which she’s positioned herself from a marketing standpoint, is one the most strategically
marketed race drivers there is.
Her Web site is a good example of that. It not only puts Patrick’s name in front of tens or millions of race fans and
generally curious Web surfers each year, it gives her biggest sponsors a big bounce from carefully woven spots on the site.
Currently, watchmaker Tissot, toy car maker Hot Wheels and domain name registry GoDaddy are getting prime exposure through
DanicaPatrick.com. If you go to DanicaPatrick.com, you’re likely to go to the photo gallery, but Patrick doesn’t
miss an opportunity to weave in her sponsors. In one photo she’s shown with a sketch of Hot Wheels’ ‘Danicar.’
There are at least five other sponsors on Patrick’s officials sponsor page, but she (and her handlers) smartly weave
her major sponsors throughout the Web site.
The site also gives fans a glimpse of Patrick’s personal life, telling the story of her hometown, her husband and even
her miniature schnauzer. These are the types of details that further endear her to fans, and even more importantly engrain
Patrick into the conscious of America.
Maybe Bayne can drive circles around Patrick—they’ll have an opportunity to sort that out in this season’s
NASCAR Nationwide Series. But it seems the youngster could learn something from the IndyCar veteran’s marketing mastery.
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Welcome to The Score, your place for hard-hitting sports business news, fast-breaking updates and fuel-injected debate. Buckle up. I'm your host, Anthony Schoettle, IBJ sports reporter.
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Saw the Indy Men's Chorus "Music of Gilbert & Sullivan" at the Indiana Historical Society on Sunday evening.
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Temporary workers are not "tools" they are people and companies that keep large amounts of temp staff are cheating.
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I miss having them around. I hope one of their stores is in the general Meridian/86th Street area. I will make good use of it.
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The Fringe! Plus, the simple fact that there are so many local faves in such close proximity to each other.
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I remenber, watching the toll road, being built, through South Bend, when I was 10 years old. I believe, back then that it was estimated, that the toll road, would be paid for in 20 years and then it would be free. I am now 71, what happened? Since the power is in the people, by that, I mean that, we the people are in total control of everything. I, suggest that no one ever use the toll road again, let it go broke. We the people can control the price of everything, from groceries to gas, if we would just do it. If we don't pay the asking price, the sellers will lower the price and if we wait awhile, they will lower the price to what we accept as reasonable. I would like to know why a highway like interstate 94, is so well maintained, a much better highway, than the toll road, but has no tolls. I would also like to know why, a sitting governor, with a term limit, maximum of eight years, can lease, public property, for 75 years. Even though I have transponders in both of my trucks and will not be affected by the increase, I have been and will contine to avoid using the toll road. I make many trips from northern Indiana to Chicago, every year, and I prefer the better highway, I94!
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Danica is at about 11:35 in her so-called "15 minutes". The clock is ticking and the Roscoe Rocket ain't sticking. She is an incredibly successful gimmick that has made great money on smoke and mirrors. Five years from now, Bayne will be a winning Cup regular, Patrick will be on the "Whatever Happened To...." lists. All she has is marketing gimmick. And she is wasting another year in a dying series. She should have bought out of AA and just ran the cabs for thwo or three years until she is Hornished.
And today, in 2011, as Indycarz seek an identity that sheds the 'lightweight' label, we again are faced with this...a comparison of Danica versus the WORLD.
Anthony...this is a parody sketch, right? Trevor Bayne can't strip for the camera or have a race gifted to him. She's never won ANYTHING of importance, yet because her marketing prowess eclipses his after 2 weeks of notoriety this is somehow newsworthy?
Why not point out the glaring differences within the INDYCARs driver lineup if you want to see GAPS in popularity compared to Mrs. Hospenthal. THEN you will see how pathetic the Indycarz truely have become. And that is the point of my comment....when the only measuring stick is an artificial one, how accurate is the measurement?
Think about it...
Trevors problem is he probably does not have "people". No publicist, no agent, no one to explain this to him. He was driving for Wood Brothers who has not one Daytona in 35 years and I am not sure if they have had a top 10 finish in the last decade.
He may have already had his 15 minutes of fame, and if so he missed the boat. It will be interesting to see how he does in the future.
What is telling is AJ Foyt said Indy made Aj Foyt...not the other way around.
I ask you all...seriously....what stars of AJ Foyt's caliber has the 500 produced since 1996? Danica can't be the answer friends....she is the aberration that floated the IRL to now. She must go for the sake of the sport.
Burl has it right....if a girl can do it, how hard can it be....OR are the 21 other MEN in the series just pansies?
Think about it.....Indy perspective just isn't there anymore.
But rest assured the marketing flaks will keep her driving NASCabs for the next 4-5 years based on the sponsorship $$$ she'll continue to bring to any series.
That is until another female driver with better hair and uh,other significant physical traits shows up to race. And I mean really race, not zoom around holding position just to finish as Danica seemingly does every race.
Trevor Dayne was already on a lot of racing pubs' radar as Racer magazine indicated in their NASCab preview:
Who will surprise in 2011?
Trevor Bayne will drive the iconic No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford in 17 races. The Woods have decided to go back to having Roush Fenway Racing build their cars and Bayne can flat get up on the wheel. Even without running a full schedule, he'll make some noise for sure.
And surely he did.
can anyone say DAVID PEARSON with out the cigarettes? Trevor can still use the SILVER FOXES Spearmint gum and advise....
Derrike Cope? Really? He has 2 NASCAR wins...total. Seems like he proves my point.
As far as drivers who were made by Indy, as you put it, Tony Stewart, Helio, Tony Kanaan, Sam Hornish and although you will quibble, Danica. You cannot argue she is one of the most well known drivers in any series.
Because she's popular from her Go Daddy and HM semi-nude pictorials?
WHAT HAS BECOME of this racing world? Star's are made with sex rather than going 10/10th on the razor's edge at the track? Sickening...and the Speedway has let this happen. They deserve the fate they alone control.
Trevor Bayne is no Danica. Right now, Danica has better name recognition even with Trevors Daytona win. And unless Trevor wins a lot more races, he will be another Pete Hamilton or maybe if he is lucky, Derrike Cope.
Don't seem surprised that in entertainment, that flash beats substance. Kyle Petty and even Dale Jr. got more publicity for who their relatives are than for their wins or lack of. NASCAR is the WWE of the racing world.
There you have it. It is all about "name recognition". That's why guys go racing. To be recognized. To be famous. Kind of like why nerds in school become radio DJs and sportwriters at Speed.
Trevor Bayne, Pete Hamilton, Derrike Cope = Race Car Driver.
Danica Patrick = Kart racer turned gimmick turned marketing ploy. At least she got rich off the deal.
But at the end of the day, purists, real race car drivers would pick out Pete Hamilton in a lineup of Danica's, Sarah's, and Lynn's.
Nice try, Windyman.
Pete Hamilton. Stud. Race car guy. Earned respect.
Which raises another point....your beloved series, the IRL (now Indycar) has hung it's hat collectively upon Danica's sexy image to sell it's product. How pathetic that marketing effort is.....
Is Danica BETTER than AJ Foyt? Using your analogy Iman, where sex sells and MILLIONS are rolling in DANICA's bank account I'd have to say she's probably eclipsed even the best 4 time INDY 500 winners...maybe even collectively.
THAT'S how sad this series has become. the token girl who takes her clothes off to make money and with ONE gifted win is better than all that came before her. That's Indy today, and for the past 6 years.
Only now, they're out of tricks to entice viewers with the racing and the sex angles, so now they try MORE gimmicks.
INDY (or the series) NEVER needed that BEFORE the IRL was created. To add insult to injury...the 2011 Indycar series is NOTHING but the same year old regurgitated hash served up by the speedway over and over for 8 years.
Yummy. So, stop slagging Derrick Cope who had a good career in racing and is a champion of the Daytona 500...a race that garners 3X the TV ratings of the Danica 500, and put MILLIONS more butts in the seats than the Indy 500.
You shoot for small potatoes, you get small potatoes. That's my point.
But this happens in every sport. Who is better, Ochocinco or Garcon? Who is the average person more likely to know? Not because he is good, but because he is a spectacle.
In a 300,000 crowd at IMS or 200,000 at Daytona, how many are racing purists and how many are fans who just know what they are marketed?
So which part earned Hamilton respect, Winning Daytona or the other 3 Cup races he won? I am thinking most racing purists do not have a clue who he is either. Maybe the Daytona equivalent of Donald Davidson would remember him.
You guys need to wake up and smell reality.
Iman, you don't even care if the sport has sunk to these disgusting levels, do you? If they changed the rules so at the 100 lap mark all driver got out of cars went to swab the disgusting raw sewage out of the head in Turn 1...you'd be ok with that.
Indy may need to die...IF that's how far you'd let this sport sink without voicing disapproval....
Oh, I forgot, you make money off of the website that fuels you points of view. It's clear why your opinion is invalidated now....
And NASCAR is working hard to steal her away and make her their golden driver. Racing is a large part marketing and showmanship. PT Barnum would have been a great racing promoter. Good drivers do not sell hundreds of thousands of tickets. Marketing does. If you have a great driver, who minds his manner, is not attractive and does not cause controversy, then you do not have much of a selling point. But if you have a driver with average talent, but they are hot, or dating a supermodel, or have a famous daddy, or turn grudges into on track accidents, then they are going to market you like crazy.
Please prove me wrong. I would love to be wrong on this point.
The sport is totally out of balance if a three time 500 champion, a 2 time 500 champion AND 2 time IRL champion can't get a WIFF of publicity....yet DANICA can.
And NOW you blame NASCAR for wanting to steal her?
WHERE was your outrage when NASCAR was picking apart both CART/CCWS and IRL by poaching it's best drivers? Don't you KNOW it was designed to tear down the AOW sport?
Let her go...she's done more damage than good even though she's a marketing marvel. Marketing can't win races....Racers do that. And if IMS thinks racing is now their 3rd level of revenue sourcing, MAN is this sport in a load of trouble.
Randy Bernard....get a clue buddy, your F grade just got BIGGER. And just think...an statement of simple culpibility would have set everyone straight.
Better get another Danica gimmick started QUICK. Just EVOLUTION I guess....not.
Only the Speedway is to blame for letting the series and the 500 get into this position. More proof the George family is cratering this sport. Further.
Who is blaming nascar for taking Danica? i don't blame them, they have been trying for years to get a female who can be competitive. Since they could not create one, they have to poach one.
After all the issues between NASCAR and Goodyear, I am not sure I would want them. I would love to see Hoosier with their Indiana connection and long history with racing. Most of these drivers were brought up on Hoosiers. I also hated to see the way NASCAR screwed them over.
Pirrelli would be an exotic name with a long racing history as well. It will be interesting to see which company of companies end up as suppliers.
But its too late...just like they failed with Tony Stewart, the oval brigade, and ovals in general.
Who's been brought up on Hoosiers? Bertrand Baguette? TK, Dan Weldon, Helio CarstoNeves, dario? Scott Dixoin or Briscoe? Mikey, Marco, or Takuma Sato...or anyone else?
Certainly you are being sarcastic Iman. You take things so personally. Go back to your forum and make your blood money.
Patrick placed fourth, the best finish for a woman in a national NASCAR race. The previous best was Sara Christianâ??s fifth at Pittsburgh in 1949."
SHe's GONE friends. 2012 is a LONG way away...
good for Danica. this is what NASCAR was hoping for. Where else have you seen a driver get this much press for 4th place? Similar to when she did the same at Indy.
If Danica leaves, then we will wait for the next star from Indy.
I remember when the haters said cart would fail without the "stars and cars". Then they said they would fail without Tony Stewart. Then they said they would fail without De Ferran. Then they said they would fail without Sam Hornish. Then they said they were going to fail without Helio (when they were praying he would get convicted). So now it is going to fail without Danica...if she goes.
If past history is any indicator, the next big star will step up again. AJ did not make Indy, Indy mad AJ, and Stewart and Hornish and de Ferran and Danica and who ever the next star is.
In 15 years the speedway has produced NOTHING...not even the Dancing with the Stars 3x Indy winner garners any recognition as being made by Indy. What year did Danica eclipse AJ in 500 wins? What year did Stewart win his first Indy 500? What happened to Buddy Rice?
Tony George's vision was a failure, and the vision by current speedway myopics is a failure too.
Now, ROGER PENSKE, he bleeds INDY 500. He's won so many people stopped keeping count. You know, he's making engines for the series too, and will probably have a hand in this tire crisis too. And Detroit street racing. Makes ya wonder why he took his CART IPO $$$ and split to the IRL after introducing Lee White from Toyota to the IRL. It's no coincidence that toyota left for the IRL soon after too, is it? Geez, and people never seem to wonder why the IRL..errr, Indycarz are hated by generations and generations of fans.
Danica Patrick could learn a few things from Trevor Bayne: DON'T be something you're not.
What year hasn't the .1rl failed???
It's lost tens of millions every year. The marketplace has said it doesn't want what the folks from Indiana are selling. The people running the Indiana Razing League don't care to listen though.
Being propped up for 15 years does not make the .1rl successful. It just keeps it hanging around on life support, barely alive.
If the H/G purse strings were cut, it would fold in a second, and thems the facts.
In the end, basic facts remain:
1. The Indy Car Series is preparing for its 16th season.
2. cart is dead by their own hand.
3. champcar is dead by their own hand.
Is it not time all of you grew up and became actual fans?
1. CART/CCWS owners and drivers DOMINATE the IRL/INDYCARS since they abandoned the CART/CCWS and carpetbagged their way into INDY/IRL lovers hearts with their dominating command of the IRL championships and Indy 500 since 2000.
2. Therefore, the CART/CCWS owners, drivers and supporting crews and sponsors essentially have owned the IRL (forcing it's vision into extinction) since 2000.
3. The IRL vision and series was a failure and is DEAD.
I'm sure we can find some common ground here.
Iman, it's clear you can't differentiate between what Indy always was, and what it's become. She needs to win ANYTHING regularly to get respect....and right now she's no different than anyone else who will never get the chance because of lack of funding, lack of equipment, lack of opportunity or lack of gimmick. Sex sells for her but overall it's tarnished this sport considerably.
This is not different than when Willy T Ribbs drove. The only reason he had that chance is because he was black. It was a gimmick.
Racing has always been about the show and the go. Ever hear of The Greatest Specatacle in Racing? Big league racing works because you can draw the sponsors, put fans in the seats and eyes on the tv. As NASCAR shows, it does not matter if that is done with talent or with skill.
If you want real grass roots pure talent racing, stick with Saturday nights at Winchester. Dollars get too big in top shelf racing for it to be all about the talent.
I suppose using your standards, the President of the USA is a gimmick too?
You are WRONG. Some are pioneers, some are journeymen, some are legends.
YES, I want real grass roots AOW racing, just like it used to be in the Indycars. Without distractions from soft porn models and glamorous metrosexuals. Where personalities developed from the RACING, not in some Madison Avenue advertising think-tank of mad men.
THAT'S why the sport sucks now....in 1996 that formula was SEVERED so a rich boy could get control of the sport. And, he scratched and kicked his way with any gimmick he could to gain attention. Well, not TV ratings and no attendance, and NO RESPECT are the fruits of his labor today.
-Tony George no longer runs the INDYCAR Series.
-Sponsorship spend more than doubled in 2010 to over $81 million.
-Teams announce sponsorship deals weekly. Charter just re-upped long term with DRR.
-Ratings in targeted demos rose 40% last season.
-New cars, motors and tires join the fun in 2012.
-Title sponsor IZOD credits their sponsorship in sports with doubling company sales last year.
'Sucks' is a subjective epithet. Since you remain obsessed with it, perhaps it would be nice if you tried to enjoy it.
Winners do.
If you do not want gimmicks in racing, then stay out of the big leagues. Unfortunately that is what draws the big crowds. So you are saying that TG invented racing gimmicks? so prior to '96 there were no such things?
Overboard? Moi? No freakin way....you said regarding Willy T. Ribbs "The only reason he had that chance is because he was black. It was a gimmick." I disagree with that point, and on your subsequent point with the blurting of "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" as some amalgamation and king of all gimmicks, the Indy 500.
Listen, I do not deny Danica is popular but to make the assumption to the great unwashed that it was from her prowess as a winning race driver is pure BS, and you know it.
Great racing and winning create the legends of all motorsports. When you condemned Willy T, you essentially have condemned EVERYONE as gimmicks...and that is wrong.
It could be interpreted from your point that the IRL's formative years of "giving Americans a chance" BS was nothing more than a gimmick, right? So, Joe Gosek and Steve Kinser and Sarah Fisher.....YEP, nothing but gimmicks, right? Do you realize what you have done here, you have invalidated the very existence of what exists today.
That's why the sport SUCKS. Cheap imitation racing by drivers who are nothing but gimmicks. But, as long as it sells! Is it any wonder this sport is in the crapper?
3 1/2 months from first test of 2012 chassis and engine and aero doo-dads, and they ain't got no tires! And, apparently car owners voicing strong approval of firestoneee!~ What's happening?
I think it's a great move by the owners...it's clear the IMS doesn't have a clue!!!
Here's the problem with what you guys are saying: It seems as though you people are so quick to attack Danica Patrick for the attention that she gets. Seriously, is it really HER fault that she gets so much media attention as well as so much attention from her fans (and from her detractors)? Seriously, if YOU were in her shoes and were getting millions of dollars thrown at you to do TV spots, modeling gigs and so forth would YOU turn it down? Of course not!
What do you guys expect, huh? For her to say, "Oh no, I can't do this TV ad because I haven't won X amount of races yet and it'll make bloggers mad." C'mon...seriously, that's ridiculous. No responsible driver is going to do that! Danica knows that in this day and age sponsorship is extremely difficult to come by in the first place (especially in IndyCar) and doing TV ads and magazine spreads gives her media presence...which helps attracts/keeps sponsors...whatever it takes to have a ride. Other drivers do TV spots and media work, too. Most of the time it's part of a contractual agreement between driver and sponsor to do TV ads for their sponsors...ESPECIALLY if they're as popular as Patrick.
Secondly, what makes her the center of attention so often has nothing to do with the media work she's done, but rather, because she has a huge fan base. The media attention is a RESULT of the fanbase, not the cause. Advertising just simply doesn't work that way. Companies use popular athletes like Danica to help sell their products. They do not sell their products with athletes to make them popular.
You guys are assuming that people are supporting her simply because she's an attractive woman driver. By saying this, you insult many race fans who love Danica Patrick. I'm a racecar mechanic myself and I personally am a Danica fan. I love her, actually...and I'm sure I know more about racing than MOST of you on this forum...
Tony Stewart, Montoya, Franchitti and many others have been supportive of her NASCAR efforts....so are they only fans of her because she's a pretty woman that looks good in a bikini and a pair of boy-shorts? Of course not! How about you go say that to Mr. Franchitti's face.
If you were to survey the crowd at MOST IndyCar races, particularly Indy....most of them are rooting for Danica. Period. This is the reason why there so much coverage of her, merchandise and media attention on her. That's just sports, period. It's pretty low of so-called "racing purists" like yourselves to start dissing the very entity that keeps racing alive at all....the fans. If you want to trash Danica, go ahead....but leave her fans outta this...
It also seems that you guys are suggesting that "racing purists" just couldn't possibly be Danica fans. I find this utterly ridiculous and ignorant in the highest order.
Nico Rosberg of Formula One fame has NEVER WON A SINGLE RACE in F1 and he's been at it almost as long as Danica. He has NEVER finished higher than 6th at Monaco (Danica finished 4th and 3rd at Indy), has only podiumed 5 times vs. Danica's 7, and has never pole'd. Yet he's one of the more popular drivers. Are racing purists not allowed to root for him and only the Red Bulls, Ferrari's and Mercedes's? No serious F1 fan would ever say that he lacks talent.
Just because a driver isn't winning doesn't mean that that driver's loyal fans aren't racing purists.
Back when Sam Hornish Jr. was winning Indy races/championships right and left I bet you people went hoarse cheering for him....but now that he's struggling in NASCAR you people make fun of him and use his name in vein. You guys aren't purists, you're bandwagon fans...only cheering for winners to make yourselves feel like experts...pathetic.
The common thread here seems to be "there's no reason to be a Danica fan other than the fact that she's a pretty woman because she isn't winning"....as if winning is the only reason to be a fan of anyone for that matter....
Thanks,
Ashleigh (NascarGirl21)