SAFETY FIRST SPONSORS SHOULD TAKE NASCAR TO TASK AND USE THEIR CLOUT TO PROTECT DRIVERS.

Byline: David M. Carter

SPEED, risk and excitement sell. They also deliver television ratings.

As we learned at last year's Daytona 500, an unfortunate combination of the three can also lead to death.

In the wake of the crash that claimed the life of racing legend Dale Earnhardt, NASCAR is forced to delicately balance the sport's cash flow needs with its drivers' safety.

It must rapidly and sensitively accomplish this without compromising its relationship with the corporate sponsors that finance the sport.

The difficulty in navigating this challenge will be evident this week when NASCAR releases its much-anticipated findings into the death of racing's most popular star. Portions of the report have already been leaked to the press.

The four-month investigation was the most extensive independent inquiry in NASCAR's 52-year history.

In addition to revealing that Earnhardt died from a sudden head-whip when his No. 3 car hit the wall on the last lap of the sport's premier event, the investigation uncovered safety problems in the design of the race cars.

NASCAR changed its rules in an effort to slow the stock cars and tighten the racing in anticipation of providing a more exciting product. It was believed that this strategy, when bundled with improved on-air production quality, would maximize revenue from the same corporations that have had tremendous success leveraging their relationship with extraordinarily brand-loyal fans.

Competitiveness in racing doesn't just mean what happens on the track.

In today's sports entertainment industry competitiveness extends to the areas of television and corporate sponsorship.

In November 1999, NBC, Turner Sports, News Corp.'s Fox and FX agreed to pay more than $2.4 billion over at least six years for rights to televise NASCAR.

At a time when most sports are suffering through an extended period of ratings erosion, NASCAR's television ratings remain strong, with ratings up as much as 30 percent this season. Although its ratings are second only to the National Football League among sports in the U.S., significant pressure remains to protect its lofty ratings status.

However, veteran driver Mark Martin has stated, ``What is good for the fans is not always good for the competitors''

Since no other sport relies as heavily on its relationship with corporate America, sponsors are ideally situated to effect any changes they deem necessary since they control the sport's purse strings.

Sponsors can decide for themselves precisely what they believe the acceptable trade-offs are between television ratings and driver safety.

Given their role as financiers, sponsors can use the Earnhardt tragedy and the lengthy investigation into it to shape the future of the sport.

They can do so by playing an even higher profile role in ensuring safety by funding additional research and weighing in on current safety discussions relating to energy-absorbing walls, the use of ``black box'' crash recorders, and specialized traveling medical teams.

Sponsors can also link their investment in the sport to NASCAR's ability to successfully address safety issues to their satisfaction.

Alternatively, sponsors can bring NASCAR to a screeching halt.

If sponsors believe the sport is sending the message that the safety of its drivers is secondary to that of making money or are otherwise uncomfortable with NASCAR's awkward handling of Earnhardt's death, sponsors can reallocate sports marketing dollars until NASCAR adequately acquiesces to them and their shareholders.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) At a time when most sports are suffering through an extended period of ratings erosion, NASCAR's television ratings remain strong.

(2) Given their role as financiers, sponsors can use the tragic death of Dale Earnhardt, shown above in 1994, and the lengthy investigation that followed to shape the future of the sport.

Associated Press