Scorecard June 30, 1997

On a Winning Track

Last Friday's tentative settlement of litigation against the tobacco industry, which includes a ban on brand-name tobacco sponsorship of sporting events, would seem to have sent tens of millions of dollars in funding for NASCAR up in smoke. (The settlement would have little effect on most other sports, which, with the exception of some advertising in stadiums and arenas, have already distanced themselves from tobacco money.) Yet, because NASCAR is enjoying unprecedented popularity, the tobacco ban will likely prove to be little more than a bump in the road for the sport. Last weekend, as NASCAR moved into a superb new venue, California Speedway (above) near Los Angeles, it shed only crocodile tears over the $30 million a year in Winston Cup Series sponsorship it stands to lose.

That money has become pocket change for NASCAR, which has been quietly exploring ways to distance itself from its tobacco-stained roots and move toward a determinedly wholesome family image. The tobacco settlement could actually help NASCAR by effectively freeing it from a sponsorship contract it couldn't otherwise have escaped. "The popularity of the sport ensures us of being able to choose our new direction carefully," says NASCAR marketing vice president Brian France. Several corporations, including Pepsi, Coca-Cola and McDonald's, are believed to be interested in bidding on the series sponsorship. But France says he isn't sure a series sponsor is even needed any longer.

Out at California Speedway—a pristine, palm-lined oasis owned by auto racing magnate Roger Penske and built in one of Southern California's densest concentrations of heavy industry upon land that was once the site of a steel mill—-trams shuttled most of the 95,000 spectators on hand for the California 500 back and forth from 32,000 paved parking spaces. Penske, whose new track will also host a CART race this fall, cites the 17.5 million people who live within a 90-minute drive of the track, and expects in a few years to draw 200,000 "guests" (as fans are known at California Speedway) to each race.

The California track stands in contrast to the Texas Motor Speedway, which opened in April near Fort Worth with 150,000 seats and a long string of luxury skyboxes but with a track that drivers loathed. The 1996 Winston Cup champion, Terry Labonte, who suggested in April that Texas Motor Speedway officials "build a racetrack" after seeing the 1.5-mile oval with abrupt, narrow transitions from banked turns to flat straights, called the two-mile California Speedway "as good a racetrack as you could ask for." Says Winston Cup points leader Jeff Gordon, who won on Sunday: "Transitions into and out of the corners are smooth, and there's a lot of grip. If you get those things right, you've got happy race cars and happy drivers."

And that means happy fans. Drivers predict that once the California Speedway is seasoned they'll be able to race four or five abreast through the turns—a cavalry charge unheard of on any track in the world. With such heady scenes in mind, NASCAR, far from being clouded over by the tobacco news, continues to breathe in the sweet fumes of success.

Foxy Deal

While Ted Turner, the 58-year-old vice chairman of SI's parent company, Time Warner, was suggesting last week that he and Fox network kingpin Rupert Murdoch engage in a boxing match to settle their highly publicized feud—"It would be like Rocky, only for old guys," said Turner—the 66-year-old Murdoch was too busy expanding his empire to parry verbal jabs from another cable guy.

By striking an $850 million deal to acquire controlling interest in Cablevision Systems Corp., Fox Sports put itself in position to become an unprecedented power in sports television. Fox, along with its partner Liberty Media, already owned nine regional sports channels, reaching 30 million viewers. With the eight regional channels owned by Cablevision, Fox/Liberty now has high-profile sports programming in virtually every major U.S. market and has broadcast rights to 49 pro teams and 20 college conferences—including such national draws as the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Lakers. Murdoch, who is also negotiating to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers, will weave together the local rights to create a national entity, Fox Sports Net, that could reach 55 million homes as the only network with broadcast rights in all four major pro sports.

Though it is being billed as a rival to ESPN, Fox Sports Net is not a pure national network. Unlike ESPN, which offers regular national programming of pro baseball, football and hockey, as well as college basketball and football, Fox will have commitments to air games regionally that may conflict with its national mission. If Fox is to have a tangible impact on sports viewing habits, it will do so by providing a solid slate of nationally televised live events; that Fox Sports Net will present news programming that competes with ESPN's various offerings, with CNN/SI and with other news and highlight shows is of minor significance in a crowded market. "The news aspect, though it gets a lot of attention, is simply a way to round out the hours," says Sean McManus, president of CBS Sports. "But if Fox gives fans alternative events, it's a win-win situation for the viewer."