NASCAR and other motorsports still help automakers sell new cars

Automakers still find value in motorsports, with success on the track leading to sales and technology transferred to street cars.

"We're having the best year we've ever had," said Hendrick, owner of the largest privately held dealership in the country. "The market is blazing." When motorsports began to gain mainstream traction in the 1980s, the motto for auto dealers was always "Win on Sunday, sell on Monday." But the economic downturn of 2008 nearly devastated the automotive market and NASCAR's soaring popularity started to level out. The marketing slogan was suddenly watered down to something closer to like, "Win on Sunday, hope a customer comes in on Monday." Even so, manufacturers have not moved away from motorsports as a top sales platform. It's never been more evident than this year as spending has resumed after the pandemic crushed 2020 sales. Motorsports remains a critical marketing tool for companies to show how racing technology transfers from the track to the streets.