Brand loyalty—does it exist anymore? That’s a question that has come up with the recent move at Penske Racing to Ford from Dodge. Are there any teams that a loyal to the brand anymore? Lots of evidence suggests that there are.
The first example is the Wood Brothers racing team, formerly of Stuart, Virginia. In the 1960’s and 70’s, they were probably the top team in NASCAR, usually running Mercury’s and Fords. I looked back through their history and found no evidence of any other brand being used in their long successful career. Another is Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has always run Chevrolets. Although Hendrick is on record as saying he owns Ford dealerships, he’s never strayed from running Chevrolets. I call that brand loyalty.
The same can be said for Richard Childress. RCR has campaigned Chevrolets forever. We remember RCR for the championships that Dale Earnhardt won, but if you look a little closely you find that Chevrolet is the brand they used.
Jack Roush of Roush-Fenway Racing has been a Ford loyalist. One employee is on record as saying that if you broke open Jack’s head, blue ovals could come out. Yes, that’s the way I see it. Jack is Ford all the way and probably will always be, so put him in that loyal column.
A lots of teams have moved around, most notably Joe Gibbs Racing. Gibbs came to war with Pontiac and moved over to Chevrolet. When Toyota came into the sport, Gibbs moved to their programs. It cost him a championship driver, Tony Stewart, who is a Chevy loyalist, but the organization has been successful with the Japanese manufacturer. One can also look at Chip Ganassi, the owner of what has become a merger between his original racing operation and Dale Earnhardt Incorporated. Ganassi has run Fords, Pontiacs, Dodges and now Chevrolets. Roger Penske has run everything from American Motors, GM cars, Fords, Dodges and once again Fords. A pragmatist, he just wants to win. He won this year in a Dodge and will field Fords next year.
Richard Petty, once a Chrysler icon, changed to GM cars in the 1980’s, stuck with them until Dodge re-entered the sport. With little success with either after his long driving career, and only a win in the new Dodge deal, he switched to Ford. With a couple of wins under his belt and a lot of changes including him buying out George Gillette, they seem to be improving. No one can say that Petty is becoming loyal, but after his courting of Dodge after Penske left and the difficulty of securing a Ford contract, one has to wonder.
Brand loyalty used to be the rule. Some teams were Ford teams and some were Chrysler or Chevrolet teams. Anymore, it’s not so clear. Yes, the Woods and Roush will always be in the Ford camp. Childress and Hendrick will always be in the Chevrolet camp. Apparently, Michael Waltrip and Gibbs will always be in the Toyota camp, or will they? The rest are up for grabs. The days of the factory teams went away when Ford pulled out in 1970 and Chrysler followed shortly thereafter. But the one consistent thing is the teams who stayed loyal to their brand. The Woods continued, successfully, to win in those years in Mercury’s and Fords. Junior Johnson built a Chevy to compete in the early 70’s, and when Dodge and Plymouth left the sport, most moved to GM cars. The loyalists remained.
Brand has taken a back seat in recent years with the car called the “twisted sister’ in the late 80’s, continuing into the next century. When the COT came on the scene in recent years, no one could tell a Chevy from a Ford from a Dodge to a Toyota. Things are changing. When I was a kid it was always brand. My Dad was a Fred Lorenzen or Ned Jarrett fan because they drove Fords. My Uncle was a Petty or Isaac fan because they drove Dodges or Plymouths. It was fun. Nowadays, it’s become Hendrick or Gibbs or Roush or whoever. NASCAR eliminated brand loyalty with the cars they brought to the track. Once upon a time a Chevy guy rooted for Chevys. A Ford guy rooted for Fords, and Dodge guys rooted for Dodges. No more, and it took a lot away from the sport. With the 2013 vehicle, maybe we can go back to that. Beats what is going on in Indy Car and other forms of racing. That’s what made NASCAR the largest and best racing series in the world. I just hate it took so long for those guys in Daytona Beach to realize it.
The lack of brand loyal fans is the reason for the downturn in NASCAR’S popularity. Certainly the death of Dale Earnhardt played a big part but I truly believe the addition of Toyota drove away a large number of fans. I had always been a Mark Martin fan and was greatly pained when he went to Hendrick and Chevrolet but it was more than I could take when he went to MWR. I have been pulling for Trevor Bayne in his Ford and will continue to pull for the Petty drivers and the Penske team and the Biff. I will miss the Dodge entries. Perhaps since Childress is the step son at GM now perhaps he’ll bring Dodge back to the circuit. His grandsons would make an attractive package for the make.
Brand Loyalty NEEDS to be with Slammin Sammy Swindell the Genuine and Original, not Slammin Sammy Sosa, and trust me, I wanted a Mopar Defense, not any more Fergusons raiding my room and I feel like Clarissa and I got no Abe Lincoln mood to splain it all.
There just isn’t enough interest in cars anymore to make brand loyalty worth much. Besides, Nascar spent the COT years downplaying brands in favor of parity. Add to that the demographics Nascar is aiming at are even less car oriented.
What will be more important is how well the new cars race each other. Another year of points racing and mileage racing will just erode the old fan base even more.