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NASCAR is
notorious for being all
about the fans. The fan
appreciation is showing
in countless commercials
where people "drive 900
miles to watch someone
drive 500 miles" and
"my, your, our NASCAR."
Unfortunately, NASCAR
isn't catering to the
fans in the new
millennium where
everything is online.
Sure,
NASCAR has the Official
NASCAR Members Club (ONMC),
which for a nice sum of
$79.95, you can get 15%
discounts at hotels or
restaurants in race
cities, meet other fans
and try to win a pit
road tour or a driver
introduction pass.
While the
ONMC is officially
licensed with NASCAR,
NASCAR doesn't run it.
The ONMC is operated by
NMP (NASCR Members
Program) and is a
division of Stonecare
Partners, Inc..
Stonecare has been
involved in creating fan
loyalty in the past with
Marlboro Gear, Pepsi
Stuff and the Beanie
Babies Official Club.
NASCAR
doesn't own NASCAR.com
either; Turner Networks
(aka TNT) owns the
website. You didn't
think Race Buddy was
some cool invention
created for fans did
you? Sure, it is free
but it is also a
marketing ploy for you
to come to the website.
The more traffic a
website obtains,
especially if the
website has
advertisements on the
site, the more money the
owners make.
It always
seems to be about the
money, but that's not
always the case.
A few of
the most popular NASCAR
related sites online are
owned, designed, and
maintained by fans. The
majority of these
websites are known as
blogs.
A blog,
according to
Wikipedia.com is "a
website, usually
maintained by an
individual, with regular
entries of commentary,
descriptions of events,
or other material such
as graphics or video."
NASCAR
has become so prominent
on the web that even
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.,
driver of the #88 Amp
Energy Drink / Mountain
Dew Chevrolet Impala,
created his own
networking site,
InfieldParking.com. The
networking site, which
is made on the order of
MySpace.com, links
NASCAR fans with other
fans, including some
drivers.
Elliott
Sadler (#19), Denny
Hamlin (#11) and Tony
Stewart (#20) all have
personal Infield Parking
pages that are updated.
NASCAR is
all over the web and
some of the top NASCAR
blogs are receiving
hundreds and thousands
of hits a day.
No, not
the blogs that are a
part of places such as
ThatsRacin.com or Yahoo!
Sports; I mean the blogs
that are made by the
fans, who love nothing
more than to talk and
discuss about the sport
that they love so much.
Fans with
blogs have become more
than just a fan with a
past time, they've
become unofficial
members of the media.
It's fans
with NASCAR blogs with
insider contacts who are
some of the first to
break news about
developing stories in
NASCAR, whether in the
sport or their personal
lives.
In the
NASCAR blog world, there
are several different
types of blogs that
focus strictly the
sport, the drivers (and
crew chiefs, team, etc.)
personal lives or the
life of a certain type
of fan, whether it be
Tony Stewart or Kasey
Kahne.
Below is
what I would consider
the top NASCAR blogs
made by fans, for the
fans, in no particular
order:
Rev'
Jim's RantsnRaves (http://revvinrants.blogspot.com/)
Jim is never one to
disappoint with his
commentary on all things
NASCAR. He is also the
founder of NASCAR
Bloggers Full Throttle (http://nbftdigest.wordpress.com/)
where several NASCAR
bloggers online come
together to share their
thoughts and link to
different items in one
place.
The
Fast & The Fabulous
(http://www.thefastandthefabulous.com/)
This site, owned by
budding NASCAR
journalist Valli, is
full of creativity and
original content with
her track experiences,
including working the
recent Sonoma race, to
her opinions on the
current state of the
sport.
Answer
This
(http://drinkthis.typepad.com/answer_this)
Some dislike the site
because they think it
digs too deeply into the
private lives of drivers
and crews of NASCAR, but
others love it, visiting
daily. TallGlassofMilk
never lets her visitors
down with her juicy
gossip and unique way of
reporting what the fans
want to know. She brings
the "soap opera" world
of NASCAR to the
internet all while being
a loyal fan to the
sport.
Full
Throttle (http://fullthrottle.cranialcavity.net/)
Full Throttle is
constantly updates with
news stories that you
might not see on the
normal NASCAR sites like
NASCAR.com or Fox
Sports. Marc, the owner,
is always on top of
things and his
personality shines
through his work.
The
Daly Planet (http://dalyplanet.blogspot.com/)
While this site is
owned by a TV writer,
John Daly is obviously a
fan of NASCAR. His
insight into NASCAR
media from Fox to ESPN
to NASCAR.com always
enlightens the reader
with new information
about how the world of
mass media works,
especially in NASCAR.
Do You
Nascar? (http://doyounascar.com)
Tim writes intriguing
articles that make you
sit and ponder for a
while, such as a recent
one entitled, "Why does
'Silly Season' hinge on
Tony Stewart?"
Also for
your viewing pleasure, a
few more great NASCAR
blogs:
Amy's
Bad Groove (http://www.badgroove.com/)
The Race Kitten
Report (http://www.racekitten.net/)
ZuDfunck (http://www.zudfunck.com/)
Trixie's Trailer Park
(http://trixiestrailerpark.wordpress.com)
Shameless
Plug: Diary of a Track
Bunny (http://trackbunnyfilms.com)
You can contact
Karah-Leigh at
karah@speedwaymedia.com
The opinions expressed
on this site are not necessarily those of the publisher. All
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the author. Copyright 2000-2008 SpeedwayMedia.com.
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