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http://www.salisburypost.com/sports/298511357650473.php
By Tim Whitmire
Associated Press
CHARLOTTE — First, NASCAR traded smokes for cell phones for sponsorship of its top series. Now, one of the circuit's biggest tracks is going partly smokeless.
Lowe's Motor Speedway in suburban Concord announced Wednesday it will offer a no-smoking, alcohol-free family section at the Oct. 15 UAW-GM Quality 500 Nextel Cup race. The track hasn't had such a section at any other top-level NASCAR event.
"Racing is a family sport, and we strive to make events at Lowe's Motor Speedway entertaining, fun and affordable for the entire family," H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler, president and general manager of the speedway said in a release. "This new family seating area was designated as the result of feedback from our fans."
And it's yet another sign of NASCAR's continued push into the mainstream and tobacco's diminishing role in the sport.
Born among moonshiners hauling whiskey through mountain hollows, stock-car racing came of age in the mid-20th century on tracks across the South.
For 33 years — beginning long before sponsorship and naming rights deals were common in sports and ending in 2003 — NASCAR's top series was sponsored by R.J. Reynolds' Winston cigarette brand.
Over the last decade or so, the series has leveraged surging popularity to push beyond its traditional base. The circuit now races in cities such as Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago and Kansas City and has tried to shed its southern-fried image.
Over the same period, the tobacco industry has declined steeply, a victim of the 1998 $246 billion settlement of state lawsuits against the industry and increasingly restrictive smoking laws.
Amid declining profits that would lead to layoffs, RJR announced in 2003 it would end its Cup sponsorship. Wireless communications giant Nextel stepped in to replace them.
Earlier this year, Nicorette gum became the first smoking-cessation product to enter the sport, signing a sponsorship deal with Chip Ganassi Racing.
According to market research supplied by Nicorette manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare at the time that deal was signed, NASCAR fans are 28 percent more likely to smoke than other adults and smoke 18 percent more cigarettes than other adult smokers.
Lowe's Motor Speedway has fielded requests in recent years from fans looking to sit somewhere free of smoke and booze during races, track spokesman Scott Cooper said.
The family section will include 4,100 of the track's 165,000 permanent seats and can be expanded for future races, he said.
Joel Spivak, a spokesman for the Washington-based Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, hailed the move.
"It's a step in the right direction, and we hope it will lead to a year-round, completely smoke-free speedway," Spivak said.
*
Tickets in the family seating section will be available only by calling the speedway ticket office at 800-455-FANS.
By Tim Whitmire
Associated Press
CHARLOTTE — First, NASCAR traded smokes for cell phones for sponsorship of its top series. Now, one of the circuit's biggest tracks is going partly smokeless.
Lowe's Motor Speedway in suburban Concord announced Wednesday it will offer a no-smoking, alcohol-free family section at the Oct. 15 UAW-GM Quality 500 Nextel Cup race. The track hasn't had such a section at any other top-level NASCAR event.
"Racing is a family sport, and we strive to make events at Lowe's Motor Speedway entertaining, fun and affordable for the entire family," H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler, president and general manager of the speedway said in a release. "This new family seating area was designated as the result of feedback from our fans."
And it's yet another sign of NASCAR's continued push into the mainstream and tobacco's diminishing role in the sport.
Born among moonshiners hauling whiskey through mountain hollows, stock-car racing came of age in the mid-20th century on tracks across the South.
For 33 years — beginning long before sponsorship and naming rights deals were common in sports and ending in 2003 — NASCAR's top series was sponsored by R.J. Reynolds' Winston cigarette brand.
Over the last decade or so, the series has leveraged surging popularity to push beyond its traditional base. The circuit now races in cities such as Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago and Kansas City and has tried to shed its southern-fried image.
Over the same period, the tobacco industry has declined steeply, a victim of the 1998 $246 billion settlement of state lawsuits against the industry and increasingly restrictive smoking laws.
Amid declining profits that would lead to layoffs, RJR announced in 2003 it would end its Cup sponsorship. Wireless communications giant Nextel stepped in to replace them.
Earlier this year, Nicorette gum became the first smoking-cessation product to enter the sport, signing a sponsorship deal with Chip Ganassi Racing.
According to market research supplied by Nicorette manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare at the time that deal was signed, NASCAR fans are 28 percent more likely to smoke than other adults and smoke 18 percent more cigarettes than other adult smokers.
Lowe's Motor Speedway has fielded requests in recent years from fans looking to sit somewhere free of smoke and booze during races, track spokesman Scott Cooper said.
The family section will include 4,100 of the track's 165,000 permanent seats and can be expanded for future races, he said.
Joel Spivak, a spokesman for the Washington-based Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, hailed the move.
"It's a step in the right direction, and we hope it will lead to a year-round, completely smoke-free speedway," Spivak said.
*
Tickets in the family seating section will be available only by calling the speedway ticket office at 800-455-FANS.
