ustcc 08.qxd

and promotional products
TUNER PERFORMANCE REPORTS
2009 PRESS KIT
Description
What is the Nitto Tires U.S. Touring Car Championship (USTCC)?
Simply put, USTCC is America's most exciting touring car racing. Cars are production-based sedans, coupes and hatchbacks
with chassis and suspensions that have been modified for maximum performance.
USTCC utilizes a combination of sprint race format of 30-50 minutes as well as en enduro format of up to 2 hours. The on-track action is
always very intense and hard-fought and pit
stops can make a big difference. Every USTCC
event utilizes a standing start which is one of
the most exciting thrills in all of motorsports.
No less than eleven different makes were campaigned including: Acura, Honda, BMW, Mini,
Dodge, Chevrolet, Ford, VW, Toyota, Audi, and
Subaru.
Headonphoto.net
Engines in USTCC cars put out about 200250hp and are mostly stock internally. Certain
cars are allowed internal engine modifications to
keep competition level. Cars use stock transmissions with aftermarket final drive ratios and
limited slip differentials.
Oversize racing brakes are allowed which allows these racing machines to stop from high speeds time after time with ease.
Racing shocks and springs are used to make the cars handle the turns and Hankook racing tires provide the grip.
Aerodynamics are pretty open to allow the cars to look good and provide downforce.
Alll cars use the latest safety equipment to ensure the drivers are protected. These items include a full safety roll cage, racing
harness, fire extinguisher system, electrical kill switch, Nomex fire suits, and more.
A Crowd Favorite
The Nitto Tires U.S. Touring Car Championship enjoys a very large fan following and is very well-received at major race venues.
This is largely because, while the cars are heavily-modified and purpose-built for racing, they appear similar to the cars that fans
drive on the street everyday.
Furthermore, the rules for USTCC have been
created to ensure close competition amongst
the field and door-to-door racing is the norm
throughout the 30+ car field.
Lastly, USTCC drivers and teams do not have
tented or sectioned-off paddock spaces.
Therefore, they are very approachable by the
average fan with the drivers and crew taking
time to meet, answer questions, sign autographs, and take pictures with fans in the
paddock.
Headonphotos.net
Audience
The NASA demographics provide a great target audience for
virtually any company, whether it is auto related or not
Racing fans represent an extremely loyal and active consumer base
which explains why so many Fortune 500 companies choose to market
to the segment. The graph below reflects the percentage of fans polled
that made a purchase based upon that company’s involvement with the
sport. It makes a striking statement regarding the sponsor loyalty that
motorsports fans exhibit.
auto racing is now America’s #1 rated spectator sport. Auto racing is the
fastest growing spectator sport in the United States with an annual
attendance figure for all forms of racing exceeding 80 million. These
published surveys also showed auto racing as a leader in paid attendance, with only baseball showing higher attendance levels than auto
racing.
More than 55% of road racing fans, attend more than three events per
year and more than 65% are willing to travel more than 200 miles to
view an event. Additionally, over half of road racing fans spend more
than 6 hours per week watching programming on Speed Channel.
In addition to on-site spectator attendance, auto racing attracts television sports viewership at a higher percentage rate than baseball, hockey, basketball, college football, golf, tennis, bowling, and horse racing.
Worldwide, auto racing ranks second to soccer as the most popular
sport.
Most appealing to those companies who market through motorsports,
is that the segment is characterized as having disposable income and
active buying habits. 47% of road racing fans have a household
income greater than $75,000. Furthermore, road race fans are active
consumers of large and small purchases.
According to a recent survey conducted by U.S. News & World Report,
Gender
Female
Male
39%
61%
Joyce Julius & Associates (www.joycejulius.com) specializes in tracking the success of sports marketing programs. Based on over eighteen
years of research, Julius stated in an article for USA Today, “Dollar for
dollar, auto racing is the best bargain in sports marketing.” Their
research shows that racing sponsorship is the most economical means
of reaching a specific market demographic.
100
93.2
90
Age
Under 18
18-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
over 55
5%
16%
30%
24%
13%
12%
Education
Some high school
High school grad
Some college
College grad
Post graduate
5%
14%
37%
28%
16%
50
Occupation
Owner/manager
Professional
Sales
Student
Other
26%
42%
12%
8%
12%
20
Marital Status
Married
Single
Divorced/Widowed
55%
38%
7%
88.5
87.2
80
75.3
72.3
70
60
40
30
10
0
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BRAND AWARENESS
Likely to buy
Audience
Online shopping
48.4
63.5
Motor Oil
Tools
33.9
71.1
Home Improvement
Television
48.4
71.1
Camera or Camcorder
Computer
32.2
62.6
Home audio electronics
0
$75,000+
9%
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
SPENT ON PERFORMANCE PARTS LAST 12 MOS
$15,000 OR
LESS
5%
15.000 $25,000
11%
50%
41%
39%
40%
$50,000 $75,000
28%
30%
INCOME
25,000 $35,000
22%
20%
12%
8%
10%
$35,000 $50,000
25%
0%
OVER $5000
FERRARI
1%
OTHER
5%
anticipated purchases next 3 mos
The NASA demographics provide a great target audience for
virtually any company, whether it is auto related or not
$2500-5000
MITSUBISHI
1%
$1000-2500
PONTIAC
2%
UNDER $1000
DODGE
2%
TOYOTA
2%
MAZDA
17%
VOLKSWAGEN
5%
HONDA/ACURA
6%
PORSCHE
16%
NON PRODUCTION
RACE CAR
7%
BMW
8%
FORD
10%
CHEVROLET
9%
NISSAN
9%
CARS RACED BY MAKE
CARS RACED BY MAKE
2009 Schedule
April 25-26
Thunderhill Raceway Park, Willows, CA
August 1-2
California Speedway, Fontana, CA
April 25-26
Road America, Elkhart Lake, WI
August 15-16
Mid Ohio Sports Car Course,
Lexington, OH
May 30-31
Thunderhill Raceway Park, Willows, CA
(2 hour race)
September 10-13
Miller Motorsports Park, Toole, UT
(w/ NASA Nationals)
May 30-31
Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, AL October 3-4
Watkins Glen, Watkins Glen, NY
June 20-21
Summit Point, Summit Point, WV
October 10-11
(w/ Hyper Fest)
Butonwillow Raceway, Buttonwillow,
CA
June 27-28
Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, CA
October 24-25
Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, CA
July 25-26
(2 hour race)
Virginia International Raceway,
Danville, VA
Some dates could be tentative and are subject to change without notice.
George Dwinell Photos
2008
Brett Strom
2007
Jerry Bradbury
2006
Pete Bovenberg
Richard Peterson
2005
Rod Rojas
Brian Lock
2004
Justin Elin
Jeff Lepper
Tom Lepper
Patrick Sharp
Anthony Vanni
Tom Lepper
2003
David Brown
Tom Pitre
Gary Hutto
2002
David Brown
David Lang
James Sofronas
2001
Curt Simmons
Jonathan Meris
Gary Sheehan
Richard Holdener
2000
Tom Lepper
Past Champions
Drivers Champions, Manufacturer’s Champion, Dupli Color Rookie of the Year
Media Coverage
The Nitto Tires US Touring Car Championship is supported by a comprehensive variety of print and broadcast media. Last year’s season featured TV
coverage of most races on Final Drive TV. USTCC is proud to be associated
with HyperFest which consist of an import car show, drifting contest, bikini
contest, burnout contest, live bands, radio controlled car racing and many
other functions. These events are sponsored by Pep Boys, 76 gas,
Grassroots Motorsports magazine and Super Street magazine. There are
radio, TV and print ads planned to promote the HyperFest events.
TV BROADCAST
Many USTCC races are shown on Final Drive TV. The USTCC television
show is also shown on the Internet similar to bmwfilms.com and will be available on several magazines’ websites such as Grassroots Motorsports and
Tuner Performance Reports.
PRINT
The USTCC has built a strong media support among various automotive magazines and newspapers. Magazines and newspapers such as Car and Driver,
Sport Compact Car, Super Street, Grassroots Motorsports, Motoracing,
European Car, and Tuner Performance Reports support the series with features and articles.
INTERNET
Numerous internet sites provide USTCC coverage including theracesite.com,
racing.com, motorsport.com, justracing.com, autoracing1.com,
speedoptions.com and several others. Additionally, USTCC creates event
coverage videos that are available for fans to download free from the series'
website.
Facts and Info
n Schedule in the past has included many large spectator races syuch as Champ
MMM Car, American Le Mans, Super Street Time Attack and NASCAR.
n USTCC has the most diverse field in terms of manufacturers represented of any
MMM series in the U.S.
n USTCC rules allow both naturally aspirated and forced induction cars to compete
MMM head to head.
n The U.S. Touring Car Championship series began in 1998 as a regional series and
MMM grew to a national series in 2000.
n Media exposure grew by over 300% and is expected to increase again in 2009.
n The close relationship of the USTCC cars and their street counterparts is the key to
the fans interest in the series. Car clubs and other fan bases are extremely loyal to
their brand and follow USTCC action year round.
n Dozens of top companies in the US have found USTCC to be an excellent marketing
platform.