NASCAR, which has positioned itself as one of the most popular sports over the past few years, is a success when it comes to sponsorships, according to a recent Harris Interactive study. Analysis of
data from the first quarter of 2001 proved the Coca-Cola sponsorship successful, resulting in over 55 million additional bottles of Coke/Diet Coke consumed per month. This number is based on NASCAR
fans' consumption compared to a similar demographic group of non-fans.
Fans of drivers that are in the Coke family consume more Cokes per month than the general population, and are 81% more likely
to drink 31+ bottles/cans per month than the general population.
Coke might want to thank the exploding popularity of NASCAR for these numbers. Though many of the numbers have peaked within the
last year, NASCAR is no longer the Southern, white, male-dominated sport it was once thought to be. In becoming mainstream, NASCAR has seen an increase in its female, young adult, and minority fan
bases. These changes open up opportunities for sponsorship by industries not usually associated with NASCAR. Recently, a few of these numbers slipped a bit, with young adults being off 8% from a year
ago, and non-African American minorities down 12%, but they are still much higher than the number of ten years past.
Additionally, Harris found that NASCAR fans are 5% more likely than the general
population to travel. These same fans are also just as likely to carry a credit card, but average significantly fewer transactions. So, while mullets can still be seen in the crowd; teenagers, women,
and minorities are now sitting next to them.