uhcougs Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 Craftsman leaving series? UPDATE - Confirmed: Hearing that Sears Craftsman will be leaving as sponsor of the Truck Series following the 2008 season. The announcement is expected to be made within the next few days, possibly as early as tomorrow.(12-3-2007) UPDATE: Craftsman will be out as title sponsor of NASCAR's truck-racing series beginning with the 2009 season, The Star has learned. No new title sponsor has been found to replace Craftsman, but a search will soon be getting under way, said Steve Phelps, marketing director for NASCAR. He said he believes NASCAR will have little problem finding a new title sponsor because of the increasing popularity of the series. "We haven't started a search, per se," Phelps said. "But what we want to try to do is identify companies that we believe would be a great fit for the series and a great fit for the fan base. So we'll get out there in 2008, the new year, and start discussions with new companies. No real timelines on when it's going to get done. But it will obviously get done." Craftsman's contract with NASCAR ends after the 2008 series. Craftsman has been the title sponsor since 1995, the year NASCAR founded the series. Over the past 13 series, the trucks have featured some of NASCAR's best racing. Television ratings in terms of total viewership have grown every season. Scott Howard, manager of marketing partnerships and activation for Sears, said his company had been in discussions with NASCAR about continuing sponsorship of the series for the past several months. But, he said, "We have come to the decision that we're going to be giving up our title sponsorship to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series at the end of 2008. We are fully committed to the series until the end of next season." Howard said that Craftsman does not plan to withdraw fully from NASCAR. He said his company will continue exploring efforts to maintain a presence in the series.(Kansas City Star)(12-4-2007) from jayski.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REBELRACER Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 wow, the one series that was exciting to watch. i sure hope they dont start monkeying with the truck series, it is the only competitive series they have left. im sure they will sign one of those 10 year exclusivity deals that will end up running some teams off, they seem to be good at that lately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebelracewriter Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 I'm guessing Kobalt Tools.........since they are a Hendrick sponsor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waco Racer Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 Who were the other companies that were interested in the Busch/Nationwide series? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProTree Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 Sears stock lost about $85 a share this year.Time to tighten the bottom line Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lenny66 Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 It will probably be something like the " TOYOTA-NATIONWIDE (YOUR RATES ARE GONNA GO UP)-GENERIC HAND TOOLS-O'DOULS- (NON ALCOHOLIC)-NICORETTE- (NO SMOKING)- DR. PHILS CONTROL YOUR TEMPER, CAUSE OPRAH SAID SO TRUCK SERIES!!! It seems that folks are trying to take the racing out of racing. Trucks were the last of the hard charging, hard driving, exciting finishing series we had left!!! Lenny66 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakdad Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 K-Mart has the good sense to get out. They go to the tracks. They see the empty seats. They read the TV ratings. No brainer for Sears/K-Mart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RETrott Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 K-Mart has the good sense to get out. They go to the tracks. They see the empty seats. They read the TV ratings. No brainer for Sears/K-Mart. I kinda think you nailed it there Jim. I'm sure a lot of folks don't want to hear it, but truth is always truth! It is a great series, but the TV coverage...uh, did I also mention it is a great series? But, I don't know about increasing popularity, the Truck races have been popular among "race fans" all along. However, I will always believe Friday and Saturday TV races are detrimental to local track attendance. I've got some opinions about race schedules and coverage, but apparently Brian France doesn't have my phone number. I also must add that this is a "very toned down opinion" reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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