Jeff Gordon explains that NASCAR teams need to build the brand instead of producing superstar drivers
Jeff Gordon isn’t against drivers becoming stars but wants teams to experience similar brand growth alongside them.
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Jeff Gordon (Via IMAGO)
Four times NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon, who now serves as the Vice-President of his former team, Hendrick Motorsports, believes that drivers becoming the stars over the team brand is hurting the sport. He pointed out that NASCAR risks losing a lot of fans if it’s built around a handful of superstar drivers.
In the recently concluded Tuesday at Racers Forum, the NASCAR Hall of Famer used an NFL analogy to explain why it is important to make teams popular brands. He pointed out that he never changed his allegiance to the 49ers when his favorite footballer, Joe Montana, moved to the Chiefs. He pointed out that the same doesn’t happen in NASCAR.
“Joe Montana, of course, was one of my heroes, and I loved him because he was a 49er. When he left the 49ers and went to the Kansas City Chiefs, I was like, ‘eh, who’s the new quarterback?’ I think we have a role as race teams to build our brand up, maybe not as much as the star power of the driver,” Gordon said, as reported by Racing America.
He then explained how the retirement of three-star drivers, including himself, from the Cup series affected the Sport. Gordon said that seven-times Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, 15 times most popular driver award winner Dale Earnhardt Jr, and his retirement in the 2010s affected the sport. The tribal nature that is reflected in a significant set of NASCAR fans saw the inevitable exit of their favorite drivers, making fans lose interest
“But, in a way where drivers — and we’ve seen this recently with Jimmie Johnson, Dale Jr., and myself, several big drivers that have huge fan followings stepped away from the sport, and I think it had a big impact on the sport. Because the fans seem to not have a connection to the team as strongly as they did to the driver,” Gordon stated.
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Joe Gibbs Racing might’ve found the solution to the problem
The three-time Superbowl owner of JGR, Joe Gibbs, in the same event, pointed out that his team has derived a way to solve the issue of fans being fixated on drivers. He said that instead of building around just the drivers, the teams should also advertise their sections as a crew that can create an entirely new fanbase.
He wants to give the spotlight to the diverse crew most teams now have, and with young drivers who hate too much attention, he sees an opportunity there. Gibbs said that the non-NASCAR background of many athletes who are now part of the pit crew has some storyline that can attract a whole new audience.
“I think the personality of our pit crews has really taken off. There’s so much diversity; they come from so many different backgrounds…Some of these guys don’t know anything about NASCAR, they’re phenomenal athletes. I love their storyline. I think they’re so much fun and can draw in a whole different audience and maybe take some of the pressure off,” Gibbs said.
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Justin P Joy
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