• by Karl Greenberg , August 4, 2010

A new study from Rochester, Mich.-based Foresight Research, "2010: Automotive Marketing Return On Investment," which culls some five years' worth of data, shows among other things that last year, 10% of all new vehicle buyers surveyed attended one or more motorsports races in the 12 months prior to their purchase.

Twenty-five percent of all new vehicle buyers surveyed said they watched at least one motorsports race on television in the same time period. Of those who watched motorsports on TV, the average number of races watched was 11.

"New vehicle buyers who are influenced by motorsports typically love cars and trucks and they are opinion leaders for other car buyers; they give an average of 25 or more vehicle recommendations per year to others," said Steve Bruyn, president of Foresight Research, in a release.

"More importantly, people follow their advice -- and we have measured it. So there is a downstream impact from the races in the form of on-going word-of-mouth recommendations. That's why we say that the roar from a race car continues away from the track."

The favored race organizations by far were NASCAR, Formula 1 and IndyCar, with NASCAR markets dominating places where the most race fans live: Charlotte, N.C., Orlando/Daytona, Fla., Dallas and Northern California all more likely to attend a race and/or watch on TV, per the study.

Dodge owners led TV viewership (they were 36% of fans who watch races on TV), followed by GMC (35%), Chevrolet (32%) and Ford (31%). Owners of upscale and performance oriented brands are least likely to be moved by motorsports and buyers of large cars, sporty cars and pickup trucks are more likely to be.

Bruyn said when marketers have a display at a race, 63% of people who attend races said they plan their visits to figure in time to visit vehicle brand displays. "These folks are there for the race, but when they're in the market for a new vehicle they take the opportunity to visit the display. There may not be a huge number of shoppers at any given race, but there are definitely enough to make the race day pay off."

Importantly, they said that after the race they are far more inclined to recommend vehicles than the average -- 44% versus 18%, respectively.