As WWE star John Cena rolled down a scenic highway in the most recent “The Fast and the Furious” movie this summer, a child actor sitting next to him in the passenger seat donned a T-shirt of Daytona International Speedway.
NASCAR’s Charlotte-based licensing department had worked with its Los Angeles-based entertainment division to provide branded garments to Universal Pictures. NASCAR received no assurances the merchandise would be used in the film, but when its licensing staff watched the trailer, they spotted the Daytona shirt, featuring palm trees and a race car.
Meanwhile, in real life this month, New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara showed up to the team’s home game in a NASCAR-branded Toyota Supra to promote the launch of a merchandise collection with the racing circuit.
The examples are just two on an increasingly long list of ways that NASCAR is working to build its cool factor through its approach to licensing and merchandise. Seizing on a renaissance around automotive and motorsports culture, while taking advantage of the way the overall company is diversifying, NASCAR’s licensing department has found a big appetite from fashion brands, toy companies, Hollywood studios and even a dog toy subscription service to collaborate.
NASCAR declined to reveal overall licensing revenue, but the 2023 season saw trackside sales climb nearly 27% year over year, the highest combined sales of NASCAR and driver merchandise since 2015, according to information reviewed by Sports Business Journal. Per-caps were up 11.7%. Trackside, the NASCAR brand was the top-selling entity this year when including drivers and teams; NASCAR’s most popular driver, Chase Elliott, came in No. 2.
See much more at Sports Business Journal.