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NASCAR scraps NYC 'victory lap' during banquet week
By Bob Pockrass - Associate Editor
Saturday, September 13, 2008
LOUDON, N.H. – NASCAR would love nothing more than to race in or near New York City, but NASCAR and Sprint have opted not to stop traffic in the bustling metropolis during its championship celebration.
For the last four years, NASCAR has staged a “victory lap” in the middle of Manhattan a couple of days prior to its Cup awards banquet. It was an incredible sight for some – fans lined the sidewalks to see the top 10 Cup drivers wheel their cars on the streets around and about the Times Square area.
“After several years, it’s a wrap,” NASCAR Vice President Jim Hunter said Friday. “I think we needed something new. We’re doing some things, some additional promotions that we partnered up with Sprint.
“There’s going to be billboards, additional signage, fan participation and those kind of things. It’s going to be good.”
The parade of stock cars took an incredible amount of planning and cost, and NASCAR and Sprint are looking at other ways to engage fans during its championship week. Plans are still being finalized.
“There’s no way you could realize the work that our people put in to doing a parade in New York,” Hunter said. “When you think of normal traffic in New York, there’s nothing normal about it. We’ll do some other things.”
The Sprint Cup banquet this year is scheduled for Dec. 5, and both NASCAR and Sprint officials said the absence of the lap around the city won’t mean NASCAR won’t have a New York presence during that week.
“We are committed to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion’s Week and will continue to ensure it will be a highlight on the calendar,” said Steve Gaffney, director of sports and entertainment marketing for Sprint. “In conjunction with NASCAR, we are always looking for ways to improve activities and keep them fresh for the fans. We hope to have some final decisions in the near future.”
Hunter also reiterated that this was not a sign that NASCAR wasn’t committed to staging its end-of-year celebration in the nation’s biggest city.
“Our fans responded very well [to the victory lap],” Hunter said. “The crowd grew over the years. More and more people were aware of when we were in New York as a result of the parade. ... These new programs and having Sprint partnered up with us will make a big difference.
“What we’re trying to do is grow the base in New York. It’s a fitting end to the season, that time of year in New York.”
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Comments
10 responses to "NASCAR scraps NYC 'victory lap' during banquet week". Post a Comment.
Grover rickman said:
Sep 13, 2008 at 3:53 PMSprints base may be in NYC, but not Nascar,take it to a city close to a big Race track where all the Fans can go and be apart of all the fan-fare, in a way pay the people back that support Nascar!!!!Nascar always makes it about thenselves and their Rich friends that only go to 1 or 2 races a year and for them its top of line treatment for FREE!!!!Nascar will never get another penny from me!!!!!
Jimmy Rouse said:
Sep 13, 2008 at 7:36 PMRight on. Maybe Charlotte(Lowes)or Daytona.
Buddy Graham said:
Sep 13, 2008 at 9:09 PMNASCAR lives in Daytona, not New York, as much as Sprint and the France family love to suck up to them. Why are they there? Bring the celebration home or somewhere they will be seen by real people of the racing culture. NOT NEW YORK
Michelle Trice said:
Sep 13, 2008 at 11:50 PMNew York is the last place that Nascar needs to have its awards ceremony. It needs to be taken to the people who support and honor it. These new "programs" that they have set-up are probably just another way to try to suck up to the big city. They need to stop trying to go Hollywood, or New Yorker in this case, and figure out who really gives a care about this sport!
said:
Sep 14, 2008 at 4:43 AMDoesn't Macy's put on a parade just the week before that has national TV exposure? The Thanksgiving Day Parade? Why not just participate in that one? It would bring more attention to the sport on a national level.
linda smythers said:
Sep 14, 2008 at 9:57 AMi for one was planning on a trip to nyc just to see that lap.. however i agree take it to charlotte that is nascar country and has more fan access. New York is big business not nascar.....
lag lag said:
Sep 25, 2008 at 7:13 AMSo What Nascar/Sprint don't want to spend the money to bring the cars to New York ! Like you guys don't have the money. Give me a break ! I went last year and planned on going again this year. So fill me in on what other PROMO's you plan on doing in New York that can TOP that ONE VICTORY LAP PLEASE !!!!
Anne Fisher said:
Sep 30, 2008 at 5:12 PMI will miss the Victory Lap in NYC I was able to go see it once it was great treat. I hope if Nascar doe not do that they will at least bring the cars for the fans to get to see.
Dave Hugel said:
Oct 23, 2008 at 6:32 PMI once read that NY is the 2nd highest market place for Nascar.How many corporate sponsors have offices on park ave?We seem to have other parades,ie.Superbowl champs,world series in the past.(not to mention some others we could do without.)Do these not create traffic congestion?Are these less costly to put on?There is more Nascar here than most people realize.
Andrew Enderes said:
Nov 17, 2008 at 3:13 PMAs a resident of NY, and a huge NASCAR fan who travels to other states for races. I have to admit as much as I love the NY visit and victory lap in the city, the champion should be crowned in a state down south with REAL NASCAR roots.