QOTD: Win on Sunday, Sell on What Day?
Yesterday, Austin Dillon won the Daytona 500 in a snazzy new Chevy. For this race season, GM has selected the Camaro ZL1 nameplate to represent the brand in NASCAR.
Of course, it’s been ages since any stock car bore more than a passing resemblance to its showroom counterpart. After all, rear-drive V8 Toyota Camry sedans are in notably short supply at my local dealer. The scourge of stage racing and a dwindling fan base are topics best left to another day.
This brings us to our QOTD for today – does a manufacturer’s investment into racing have any bearing on your buying decisions?
The production Camaro ZL1 is a superb beast, cranking 650 horses out of its supercharged V8. Two-door, rear-drive, and with a trunkload of bad-ass, it cuts the proper figure for NASCAR in this author’s opinion. I may have been excited last year upon learning Chevy was bringing the Camaro name to Cup-level NASCAR, only to weep upon viewing the number selected for its blue flanks.
Ford inexplicably continues to field the Fusion in top-tier NASCAR while Dodge vacated the sport ages ago after winning the championship with Penske, an accomplishment for which Dodge was rewarded with The Captain taking his toys to the Blue Oval camp. Toyota, as mentioned, runs a Camry-stickered machine.
Plenty of racing exists outside of NASCAR, of course, with plenty of recognizable shapes appearing in the IMSA series here in America and in the superb Supercar Championship in Australia. Those efforts consume an increasing amount of my viewing time these days, given my disenchantment with NASCAR and its ridiculous stages. I prefer to watch the Daytona 500, not the Daytona 60/60/80, thank you very much.
Even with the more recognizable machines in other events, does racing hold any sway over your pursestrings? I do think the halcyon days of factory paint-n-wallpaper NASCAR specials are long gone. There is an argument to be made that racing dollars are a good investment from an R&D perspective, a view with which I tend to agree. How about you?
[Image: General Motors]
Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.
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Ahh, you can set your watch by it. The start of every NASCAR season brings out the people who think they're breaking news by saying the cars used in the series aren't pure stock units straight off the assembly line. No kidding! They haven't been for decades, although for much of the time they made some effort (beyond the egregious COT "sticker" era) to resemble showroom models. And they do run engines that are at least originally engineered by the manufacturers. You're not telling any racing fan anything they don't know. But obviously the OEMs see some value in participation, whatever it may be, or they wouldn't do it. People have been trying to pronounce NASCAR dead for almost as long as I've been following it (more than 30 years). What they don't tell you is that ALL forms of professional sports have seen declining attendance in recent years. The average seating capacity at a given track far exceeds what a football or baseball stadium can hold. What would be a packed house at a major league baseball game looks paltry at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Ever notice people mock NASCAR on the "they aren't stock" point, but don't even blink at the NHRA, as though that Funny Car Toyota, with its Hemi engine, is available at your local dealer. To answer the main question, no, I do not directly base my car buying decisions off of any form of motorsports, but I do appreciate their involvement. It's fun. You should try having fun.
As far a choosing a car because of NASCAR, that would be a no. However I am a big fan of Team Penske's NASCAR team & support their sponsors. I use Shell gas, recently purchased tires from Discount Tire & prefer to shop at Auto Zone. I use Snap-on tools, drink Miller Lite & Coke, all sponsors of Penske. I let the sponsors know I support them for supporting Penske by using Twitter or e-mail. Having been involved in racing and depending on sponsorship myself, I know how important it is that the sponsors know their support of racing is worthwhile.