Fri Nov 13, 2009 3:59 pm EST
If you're like me, you're swimming in cash with no clue of what to do with it. A million here, a million there, who can keep up? Well, friends, now there's an answer: gather all that loose change and bring NASCAR to your town! It's only $6 million a race!
Okay, it's not quite that simple. But as Scene Daily reports, a Dover International Speedway filing with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission has shed light on a whole host of agreements that exist between tracks and NASCAR. The contract stipulations aren't quite at the level of Van Halen's infamous "no brown M&M's" mandate, but there are still a whole host of mandates.
First, the numbers. Dover has to pay NASCAR a $6.055 million fee for its May race and $5.429 million for the September one. However, the track also gets $12.645 million in broadcast coin for its spring race and $10.473 for the fall one. The track has to contribute about 28 percent of that total to race purses. Dover has previously reported that about 70 percent of its revenues derive from its two Sprint Cup races.
As part of the filing, Dover disclosed the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup sanctioning agreements. Here are a few of the choice items, according to Scene:
• The track must carry $50 million in liability insurance and $1 million in medical malpractice liability insurance. NASCAR must be listed among the insured. NASCAR must require the TV partner to carry $2 million in general liability insurance ($1 million limit per occurrence) that includes the promoter in that policy.
• A track cannot alter the racing surface by painting, sealing or resurfacing without prior written consent of NASCAR.
• NASCAR can postpone or cancel an event if the promoter does not fix any unsatisfactory racing surface, barriers, fencing, retaining systems, SAFER barrier systems, garage area, pit area, race control area, timing and scoring areas or structures used for broadcast of the event.
• NASCAR gets 225 reserved choice grandstand tickets for the race and 200 for qualifying.
• The track must provide 325 parking passes/permits adjacent to or near the garage area for NASCAR and 50 in close proximity to the NASCAR track suite.
• The track must provide two pace vehicles. It also must provide 150 chairs in an enclosed, climate-controlled area for the drivers meeting. It must provide a control tower with air conditioning, heat, 14 chairs (with cushions), phone line and television monitors.
• The track must provide a television booth for at least five people, air-conditioned to 68 degrees. The TV partner also gets 300 tickets plus one luxury track suite. The track also must use "reasonable efforts to cause the title sponsor of the event to buy advertising in the telecasts." NASCAR requires its broadcast partner to say the name of the race at least once during the opening segment of the telecast and thereafter at least once during each hour of the telecast.
• Track must provide foot rubs and back rubs for all NASCAR officials Said foot and back rubs must be of at least "super-duper" quality, though "awesome" is preferred. Foot and back rubs given in a grudging, "If I have to" manner will not be accepted.
Okay, I made that last one up. But still, this is a pretty interesting list, and a pretty daunting one as well. Makes you wonder why anyone would want to bother with hosting a NASCAR event -- oh, wait, the millions. Right.
Financial filing offers rare glimpse into NASCAR sanctioning stipulations [Scene Daily]
From the Marbles is a NASCAR blog edited by Jay Busbee. Email him, and follow him on Twitter.

Posted Feb 8 2010
Posted Feb 8 2010
The Rowdy Big 3: Sad Little Kelly
Posted Feb 9 2010
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Edited by Chris Chase
Edited by Jay Busbee
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25 Comments
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So just kick back on your front porch, chug some moonshine out of your little plastic cup, crank up the 'ol 19 inch black and white TV, have your sister rub your shoulders and keep dreamin'.
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...say what you want, but this is nothing more than a waste of space on a server.... SAD....
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.... We finally know... This is Nascar's Rule Book!!!
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B - Brinia - I could care less about your opinion of me, NASCAR or Jay-bird... back to the kitchen with ya!
C - CnD - this isn't personal - I'd sit down and have dinner and a beer with Jay - this is about content and effort...of which there is neither -
I hear the "well, then you do better.." - WTF? this isn't my job - I'm the consumer... and this is NOT the best breakfast I've ever had... (let's see if anyone gets that)...
So now we are at ~15 responses - still one on the "Master Blogger's" terrific tale - the rest... triffle banter (read BS)... as I said...
SAD!
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The Devils are so boring to watch, they still play that trap hockey........
And buy a World Series like the Yankees....
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if he wants to cover NASCAR - do it... if not.... step away and let someone that wants to do a good job, do a good job...
I'm glad you have a sense of humor... refreshing...
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(We had this same conversation months ago. You understood it then. Email me and I'll explain it to you again, this time in nice, simple language. Not going to clutter up the boards any more than they already are with this nonsense.)
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Just a small footnote from someone who works every Cup race FEB through OCT ( I take the last four races off) on the engineering end of the broadcast.
*"The track must provide a television booth for at least five people, air-conditioned to 68 degrees. The TV partner also gets 300 tickets plus one luxury track suite. The track also must use "reasonable efforts to cause the title sponsor of the event to buy advertising in the telecasts." NASCAR requires its broadcast partner to say the name of the race at least once during the opening segment of the telecast and thereafter at least once during each hour of the telecast."*
I don't know the details of why these are in the contract. In fact, I don't know that they are. I can tell you that the amount of work and equipment that goes into the broadcast is comparable to the Super Bowl. We set up for this in about two days, 38 weeks a year. There are between 12 and 20 tractor trailers in the TV compound on any given week. The TV booth has various electronics that need to stay cool. The production trucks in the TV compound have even more, the next time you walk by the TV compound, notice that many of us are wearing sweaters when we step out of our "caves" !
Point being, the 68 degree requirement sounds like spoiled TV Crew. Actually it is more of a necessity. I admit, it sure is nice during the summer!
Have a nice week.
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