The 200-MPH Billboard The Inside Story of How Big Money Changed NASCAR

by Yost, Mark; Williams, Brian

• ISBN13: 9780760328125
• ISBN10: 0760328129
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-08-15
• Publisher: Motorbooks

Summary

What began on the dusty racetracks of the rural south is now a world-class enterprise, as closely watched by Wall Street as by hometown racing fans. How NASCAR grew from it's provincial roots to become a big business of international proportions is the story Mark Yost tells in The 200 MPH Billboard. A seasoned sports and business reporter for the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, Yost demystifies the economics and politics behind NASCAR sponsorship. His book takes us behind the scenes of some of the head-turning deals that have altered the way NASCAR does business. From Junior Johnson's contract with Darrell Waltrip and Mountain Dew, which announced a significant change, to deals between Dale Jr and Budweiser, Tony Stewart and Home Depot, NASCAR and Fox television, this book clearly tracks the subtle and not-so-subtle transformations that corporate sponsorship has wrought in recent years. And it offers a rare insider's look at what these changes have meant for NASCAR and it's devoted fans.

Author Biography

Mark Yost has reported on sports and business for nearly 20 years. He has worked for the Dow Jones Newswire in New York, and the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal in New York and Brussels. Yost is currently a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal Leisure and Arts pages, where he writes about the business and economics of sports. Yost is the author of Tailgating, Sacks, and Salary Caps, a look at the business and economics of the NFL.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Introduction

Fifty Years of Racing at Daytona

A Good Old Boy Goes Courting

How NASCAR Wooed CorporateAmerica

The Suite Life

Inside NASCAR Corporate Hospitality

Betting the Farm

The Early Days of NASCAR

From Rags to Riches

Junior Johnson Turns Tobacco into Gold pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"

The Sponsorship Shepherds

Four Hundred Cases of Coffee and a Side of Viggy

6

The Small Screen Revolution

When NASCAR Comes to Town

How Much Is That Track in theMidwest?

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