Along with injectors we now have.....

[Matt Albee]

Time for another NASCAR marketing dept. assault on the English language. NASCAR is overhauling the fan souvenir shopping. The driver trailers are going away and a large retail area with all driver and NASCAR souvenirs in one place.
NASCAR pledges an " enhanced, experiential shopping environment".

[BigBlock98]

And that's a damn shame. One of the fun things about going to a NASCAR race was walking around looking at the souvenir trailers seeing what was new and who has the longest lines. Bad move IMO.

[scottgarrity07]

NA$CAR Mall. Another cash grab. Your favorite team can have a store, for a substantial fee, and we'll still rent you a spot to park that trailer that you now have to load and unload....

[OldSchool+]

But

It will be "experiential"!

Am guessing they think that means "a wonderful experience".

In reality (dictionary.com):

Experiential-- pertaining to or derived from experience.

Or perhaps it is derived from the aforementioned NASCAR cash grab experience...

[Groundpounder]

Daytona was one of the best racing venues around on and off the track, and now they have made it better...no complaints and the place looks fantastic.

There were never any bargains on "vendor row"...all vendors always paid a fee to be there. It is probably less expensive for them to sell their merchandise now. The merchandise is probably easier for most fans to reach. It protects the teams as well from sales of unlicensed merchandise...more parking spots too. You forget that the teams are grabbing the cash, not NASCAR. It is their sandbox and one need not attend if it is sooooo unbearable!

Daytona Speedway management is really making the place into a world class facility.

[OldSchool+]

For those that like the "Vendor Experience" (vendor-experiential?) there is typically a mob of them just aross I-95 at the Daytona Beach Flea Market during speedweeks.

Other nifty things there also, like inexpensive-but-looks-expensive jewelry for the oh-so-significant other.

[Matt Albee]

I've read that the main reason for this is that not nearly as many trailers have been showing up in recent years because they don't sell enough, because NASCAR has lost a huge portion of it's fan base, because they alienated the fans, because.........
And i agree with the NASCAR cash grab. There will be admission to this shopping experience.
Groundpounder, the place is coming along nicely i guess, but my question is, what sport are they building all of this for? Surely not race cars or race fans, because there aren't any.

[OldSchool+]

Welllllllllllllllll, on the one hand they sometimes take two steps forward and one step back (or is it the other way around...?).

For instance, the "NASCAR Experience" or whatever it was called (now closed) at Daytona.

On the other hand, given the Beethlo/TBARA/Citrus ongoing struggles, I think they have provided a consistent "Big Time" show for our sport (racing cars with doors, specifically) for decades.

IMO, this deal could go either way.

[luke81]

my question is, what sport are they building all of this for? Surely not race cars or race fans, because there aren't any.

Your math is bad if you think there aren't any cars or fans at Daytona......

[Joe]

As someone who still goes to about 3 NASCAR races a year, I think this is a good move. The trailer system has been quite antiquated for some time. Additionally, this could also free up more space for interactive exhibits from sponsors like Sprint, Budweiser, etc., and that's the real draw anyway.

Also, no way there will be a cost to get in the store.

[Matt Albee]

Your math is bad if you think there aren't any cars or fans at Daytona......

You're correct, there are still fans and cars there alright. My math tells me that since DIS is eliminating ALL of the backstretch grandstands, and i think i read that some of the lowest rows on the frontstretch were also going away, the fan count must have dropped a bit. And my math also tells me that there have been just enough cars to fill the field last season, so i'd say there's been a steady drop in competitors too.

[Matt Albee]

As someone who still goes to about 3 NASCAR races a year, I think this is a good move. The trailer system has been quite antiquated for some time. Additionally, this could also free up more space for interactive exhibits from sponsors like Sprint, Budweiser, etc., and that's the real draw anyway.

Also, no way there will be a cost to get in the store.

I agree, it's not like NASCAR to charge fans for access. But i'm betting it happens.

[Matt Albee]

Daytona was one of the best racing venues around on and off the track, and now they have made it better...no complaints and the place looks fantastic.

There were never any bargains on "vendor row"...all vendors always paid a fee to be there. It is probably less expensive for them to sell their merchandise now. The merchandise is probably easier for most fans to reach. It protects the teams as well from sales of unlicensed merchandise...more parking spots too. You forget that the teams are grabbing the cash, not NASCAR. It is their sandbox and one need not attend if it is sooooo unbearable!

Daytona Speedway management is really making the place into a world class facility.

The teams are making money from souvenir sales alright. Do you suppose NASCAR lets them park their trailers on NASCAR property without getting a fee? And do you suppose that NASCAR doesn't get a percentage of sales?
It's becoming mooooore unbearable all the time. It's a shame too because stock car racing at Daytona used to be a terrific event.

[Groundpounder]

It still is great. Maybe one day you can find some good again.

Even the 2 recent ARCA tests had 30 plus cars each day, not all the same teams either. That will be a tough race to make and I expect a great show.

Yup, no cars...

[egspeedway]

The use of the word experiential tells me at least one of the Frances does crossword puzzles. The use of the word enhanced tells me the price of poker is going up. And to top it all off I sit here hoping they had the courtesy to let the vendors who helped promote the Frances sport that they would no longer allow trailers. It wasn't so many years ago the vendor trailers were spread all over Volusia county from Astor to the flea market. I am sure if they could get away they would charge extra for handicapped parking.