CarsDirect.com Leaves 'Em in the Dust Again; CarsDirect.com is First Dot-Com Company To Take Title Sponsorship of NASCAR Winston Cup Event
4 November 1999
CarsDirect.com Leaves 'Em in the Dust Again; CarsDirect.com is First Dot-Com Company To Take Title Sponsorship of NASCAR Winston Cup Event
LOS ANGELES and LAS VEGAS--(BW SportsWire)--Nov. 3, 1999-- CarsDirect.com, the first Internet car company, is leading the pack in innovation both online and on the track. The idealab!-backed company, which has redefined the car-buying experience for consumers, is now also the first dot-com company to sponsor a major NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) Winston Cup event.CarsDirect.com Wednesday announced a three-year agreement with the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, under which the company will become the title sponsor of the "CarsDirect.com 400" Winston Cup race. The race will take place on March 5, 2000 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
According to Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal, NASCAR was rated "by far the best marketing partner" in a recent survey of decision makers at companies with sports sponsorships. NASCAR and its sponsors enjoy nearly 72 percent brand loyalty -- considerably higher than any other sport, with tennis ranking a distant second with 52 percent brand loyalty.
"This is a tremendously exciting new relationship for us," said Scott Painter, chief executive officer, CarsDirect.com. "The car tie-in is a natural, but it's at the strategic level -- where you build your business by branching out into new, even uncharted territory -- that provided us with the most powerful reason to align with NASCAR. The stock car racing circuit has a sizeable and loyal audience across the country, which closely reflects our target audience. NASCAR's audience is loyal to the sport, and it's brand loyal. We see it as the 'dream machine' of sports marketing."
"This premier motorsports event gives CarsDirect.com incredible exposure to millions of racing fans across the country," said Chris Powell, executive vice president and general manager of Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
"With almost 250,000 people at the speedway over the weekend and 15 million more watching on television, we are confident that CarsDirect.com and Las Vegas Motor Speedway will reap great benefits from this partnership," he said.
Last year, the event was the second most-watched auto-racing telecast in the United States -- behind the Daytona 500, and with higher ratings than the well established Indianapolis 500. In addition to the title sponsorship, CarsDirect.com is planning a series of innovative, Web site-driven promotions.
"We are now finalizing the details of our online promotions surrounding the sponsorship," said Lou Weiss, vice president, marketing, CarsDirect.com. "Our promotions will focus on race attendees, as well as tapping the potential for participation and recognition throughout the day's events. In the weeks ahead, watch as our efforts shift into high gear."
About CarsDirect.com
CarsDirect.com (http://www.carsdirect.com) is a revolutionary new Internet company that lets consumers complete the vehicle purchase transaction. With CarsDirect.com, shoppers can research, price, customize, order and finance a new car or truck over the Web -- selecting from among 2,500 makes and models by every major manufacturer.
Unlike referral services, which point people to a dealer to accomplish the transaction, CarsDirect.com takes the customer from inquiry through financing right up to delivery. CarsDirect.com was recently named the top car-buying site on the Internet by Gomez Advisors of Lincoln, Mass.
Based in Los Angeles, CarsDirect.com is an idealab! company. Its investors include Goldman Sachs, Foundation Capital, idealab! Capital Partners, MSD Capital L.P., and Primedia Ventures, among others.