The race weekend marks the unveiling of NASCAR’s new approach to team merchandising, said Kevin Heaney, spokesman for Pocono. Instead of individual merchandise trailers, the new NASCAR Fanatics Tent will offer a shaded area for race fans to pick up hats, models, T-shirts and other memorabilia. A ribbon-cutting for the tent is scheduled Friday morning. The tent opens 9:30 a.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. There’ll be no more waiting in line for a clerk inside a merchandise hauler to hand over an item for closer look, Heaney said. “It’s all touch and feel,” he said. “You can do it yourself.” The new model levels the playing field for smaller race teams that may be unable to afford a merchandise hauler. “We are the first track to have this,” Heaney said. Other attractions include the Pocono Medical Kids Zone, a host of displays including most branches of the military and NASA in the Fan Fair and the Infield Block Party open to the public starting at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Admission to the block party is a $5 donation per vehicle to the Tunkhannock Township Volunteer Fire Co., and fireworks follow about 9:15 p.m.(The Express-Times)(7-30-2015)
UPDATE: A piece of NASCAR nostalgia will be missing from Pocono Raceway this weekend. NASCAR and merchandising partner Fanatics, Inc. will debut their mega merchandise tent “ a 60,000-square-foot production that would cover one and a half football fields “ this weekend at Pocono. The old merchandise haulers where fans congregated for T-shirts and other merchandise specific to a single driver or race team are now gone, with the exception of Penske teams, which have outstanding contracts at select tracks through this season. But NASCAR and Fanatics are betting that a wider selection of products and a more modern and convenient shopping experience will win over fans who enjoy the haulers as a link to the past. And NASCAR has tried to carry some of the old look and feel of the haulers over into the store by including driver and team section fronts. “There really are these driver and team-branded concepts and stores [in sections],” NASCAR Vice President of Licensing and Consumer Products Blake Davidson said. “There’s going to be a lot of product there. I think we will start to ease fans’ fears. “¦ The scale of this is going to blow people away.” The new mega tents will have merchandise available for 58 drivers, including areas dedicated to certain drivers. The Dale Earnhardt Jr. section alone will likely be 2,000 square feet . In June at Pocono, there was merchandise available for 33 drivers at 23 haulers. Sixty checkout stations will be available to handle the pre- and post-race rush. There also will be 12 online purchasing stations where fans can buy items and have them shipped home for free. The separate sections for women’s merchandise, children’s merchandise, die-cast models (1,400 available) and hats (10,000 representing 24 drivers) should give fans more options. By the end of the year, NASCAR and Fanatics hope to have on-site personal printing options where fans can put their names on their purchases. They’re also working on adding the capability to print and sell race-winner merchandise to fans after a race, as is the case at other team sport championship events.(in part from ESPN)(8-1-2015)
