READ TODAY'S STORIES AND E-EDITION SUBSCRIBE |  CONTACT US |  SIGN IN
Sports Extra!



SPORTS EXTRA BLOGS

FOR THE RECORD
LOCAL PROS

ALL SPORTS

PHOTOS & VIDEOS

OUTDOORS

FIND A STORY

EMAIL ALERTS

SOCIAL MEDIA

RSS FEEDS

CONTACT US
BUY PHOTOS & PAGES

ADVERTISE ON SPORTS EXTRA


Print story only Print story with comments Email Twitter Facebook Pinterest
Skies are full at NASCAR Race
Published: 10/1/2006 11:46 AM
Last Modified: 10/1/2006 11:46 AM

It looked like the busiest airport in the world was off in the distance.
We could count seven airplanes pulling those huge advertising banners. There were helicopters buzzing overhead. And, there was a blimp.
You know you are getting close to a speedway on NASCAR race day when you can see a sky full of planes, banners, choppers and blimps off in the distance.
No one does advertising better than NASCAR. As Bruton Smith once said of the NFL, I'm not interested because there's no where on the uniform to stick advertisements. Smith, of Charlotte, N.C., is one of the richest men in the world (He owns a half-dozen NASCAR tracks) and could own half of the NFL if he wanted.
Instead, he has grabbed onto NASCAR like so many other businesses. NASCAR embraces advertising. Just look at a car. Or, a driver's uniform. There's not an empty space on either.
So it is with the track. There are advertising signs everywhere. In fact, every light pole here at Kansas Speedway has a banner for a wireless phone company.
There is advertising in the restrooms, on fences and every few feet in the parking lot and concession areas.
Thus, advertising filling the sky isn't too surprising.
It makes sense. Not only do you have about 120,000 in the grandstands, but you have those same people stuck in traffic trying to get to the track for an hour or more.
It took over an hour to go 20 miles from downtown Kansas City to the track, located along I-70 west of Kansas City.
Of course, all of the traffic eventually arrives at the track (including the helicopters bringing in company executives and race teams) and the flying advertisements are cleared.
That's when it is time for the traditional fly-over by military aircraft. As usual, at a NASCAR race, it is timed perfectly at the end of the Star Spangled Banner.
There's a reason NASCAR has been the fastest growing sport for more than a decade. There's a reason it trails only the NFL in popularity.
NASCAR knows how to put on show - even during the traffic jams - three hours before the green flag.



Reader Comments


To post comments on tulsaworld.com, you must be an active Tulsa World print or digital subscriber and signed into your account.


Klein's Korner

Tulsa World senior sports columnist John Klein is in his fourth decade of covering sports. He started his newspaper career at The Daily Ardmoreite in 1977 and moved to the Tulsa World in 1978. He served 10 years as sports editor for the Tulsa World before being named to his current position in 2005. He also spent five years as the Southwest Conference beat writer for the Houston Post. He has won many writing awards and is a former Oklahoma Sports Writer of the Year.

Follow John Klein on Twitter

Subscribe to this blog



Archive

 
John Klein's Blog Archive:

2/2013  1/2013  12/2012  11/2012  10/2012  9/2012  
8/2012  7/2012  6/2012  5/2012  4/2012  3/2012  
2/2012  1/2012  12/2011  11/2011  10/2011  9/2011  
8/2011  7/2011  6/2011  5/2011  4/2011  3/2011  
2/2011  1/2011  12/2010  11/2010  10/2010  9/2010  
8/2010  7/2010  6/2010  5/2010  4/2010  3/2010  
2/2010  1/2010  12/2009  11/2009  10/2009  9/2009  
8/2009  7/2009  6/2009  5/2009  4/2009  3/2009  
2/2009  1/2009  12/2008  11/2008  10/2008  9/2008  
8/2008  7/2008  6/2008  5/2008  4/2008  3/2008  
2/2008  1/2008  12/2007  11/2007  10/2007  9/2007  
8/2007  7/2007  6/2007  5/2007  4/2007  3/2007  
2/2007  1/2007  12/2006  11/2006  10/2006  9/2006  
8/2006  





Home | Contact Us | Search | Subscribe | Customer Service | About | Advertise
Copyright © 2013, World Publishing Co. All rights reserved.