NEXT PIT STOP IS HOLLYWOOD.Byline: TIM TIM Timothy TIM Technical Interchange Meeting TIM Transient Intermodulation Distortion TIM Time Is Money TIM The Invisible Man (movie) TIM Telecom Italia Mobile (Italian cellular provider) HADDOCK Motor Sports As far as Hollywood connections go, Paul Brooks has some of the best ties in town. Brooks, the vice president of broadcasting for NASCAR NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), organization that sanctions American stock-car races, est. 1948. It held its first race in Daytona Beach, Fla. , had a part in landing Sheryl Crow as the grand marshal Grand Marshal is a ceremonial, military, or political office of very high rank. The term has its origins with the word "Marshal" with the first usage of the term "Grand Marshal" as a ceremonial title for certain religious orders. at California Speedway The California Speedway is a two-mile, low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in Fontana, California, similar to that of "sister track" Michigan International Speedway. It is located approximately 40 miles east of Los Angeles on the site of the former Kaiser Steel mill. , making Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (German pronunciation (IPA): [ˈaɐ̯nɔlt ˈaloɪ̯s ˈʃvaɐ̯ʦənˌʔɛɡɐ] the official starter at California Speedway and having David Spade David Wayne Spade (born July 22, 1964) is an Emmy-Award and Golden Globe-nominated American actor, comedian, television personality who gained fame in the 1990s as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. be the honorary mayor at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway last weekend for the Southern 500. His ties reach from Def Leppard to Britney Spears. All have one thing in common: They are NASCAR fans. In a town that can be as fake as Cool Whip Cool Whip is a brand of imitation whipped cream called a "whipped topping" by its manufacturer. It is used as a dessert topping and in some no-bake pie recipes. It is generally described as "non-dairy" as it contains no cream or milk and no lactose, though it does contain the , and at times as unfulfilling, the Hollywood tie that NASCAR is aggressively pursuing is on the surface genuine. There is a concentrated effort to find Hollywood celebrities who are true NASCAR fans and have them help promote the sport. Vice versa VICE VERSA. On the contrary; on opposite sides. , NASCAR helps these same celebrities promote themselves and their projects. ``I count David as a fan now,'' Darlington Raceway Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed the "Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition". president Andrew Gurtis said. ``He is learning. Kid Rock, his co-star from `Joe Dirt,' let him know what the crowd is about. I count him among the converted.'' It's no secret Spade was playing the part of honorary mayor to help launch his movie, ``Dickie Roberts - Former Child Star.'' Spears is working with NASCAR to make a movie about stock-car racing. NASCAR drivers are featured on a special segment of ``Wheel of Fortune.'' Every project that goes through Brooks' NASCAR office in Los Angeles has one goal in mind: to expand the fan base. ``We're the No. 2 sport on television in America,'' said Brooks, who will be awarded with an Emmy for his work in developing NASCAR iN DEMAND. ``And while that's great and fantastic, we as a sport and a league want to look for ways to grow the sport. The connection with the entertainment industry is a way for us to grow the sport.'' Brooks talked about how the relationship between NASCAR and Hollywood has developed in the nearly three years since the Los Angeles NASCAR offices opened. He explained the blueprint NASCAR has for reaching new viewers and fans and what the future holds for the sport. When Brooks started looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. ways to include a Hollywood element in his NASCAR promotions, he was admittedly amazed at how many celebrities were into stock cars. ``What we found is that, ... there are a lot of fans of our sport who are stars in their own world,'' Brooks said. ``Whether it's Britney Spears or David Spade, we really looked strategically at how we can involve some of these stars in our sport. And it's a win-win for them as well.'' The list of Hollywood gear heads is pretty impressive. Jessica Simpson, Pamela Anderson, Tony Hawk and Vanna White have been recruited to expand the NASCAR nation. And all presumably pre·sum·a·ble adj. That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. have at least a passing interest in NASCAR. Some are a little more passionate than others. Kid Rock apparently has been a NASCAR buff for some time. Spade, on the other hand, needed a little push into the fast lane. ``One of the big reasons we opened this office was to have a very significant presence in Los Angeles and in the entertainment community,'' Brooks said. ``No other league has done that to the level NASCAR has done.'' What a concept. Target an audience that normally wouldn't be interested in sports, or stock cars, and give them a reason to care. However, there is an inherent danger in pursuing a new audience and that is ignoring the existing one. It's a risk of which Brooks is well aware. ``It's a balance,'' Brooks said. ``The first part of that is being very aware and in touch with our core fans and understanding the history and the traditions of our sport are very important to our fans. That's something we embrace. ``But at the same time, part of growing is stretching yourself and we learned to do this in some areas, in some ways that won't alienate our core fans. Part of that strategy is we're really focused on working with celebrities and actors who are fans of the sport themselves. Britney Spears is a fan of the sport. David Spade is a fan of the sport. Arnold follows the sport. Go down the list. They're fans of the sport.'' CAPTION(S): box Box: RACE WEEKEND - Tim Haddock |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion