DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - NASCAR knows what sells, to the tune of more than $2 billion per year in merchandising, and hundreds of millions more in tickets, concessions and so on. Well, gentlemen, start your cash registers - again.
Tina Gordon starts a full season of racing in the Craftsman Truck Series with a run at Daytona International Speedway on Friday night. In a sport where 40 percent of the fans are female, the market just got expanded, exponentially.
Gordon, who got her start on the short tracks of east central Alabama just seven years ago, is not the first woman behind the wheel at Daytona. But she is one of a number of rising stars in NASCAR, and she is well aware that her gender makes her one of its most valuable commodities.
"This is a male-dominated sport, and I’m a woman, so that makes my situation out of the ordinary before we even start the race," Gordon said. "I’m fine with all of that, and the attention it brings. But when I climb in the truck and put my helmet on, it’s all about racing, and gender doesn’t matter."
But it doesn’t hurt that Gordon is pretty, blond and has a good racing name. She can run with the big boys, turn a few heads, and she can sell things the guys won’t touch.
Yesterday, Gordon announced a major sponsorship deal with Vassarette. It’s not a beer maker, a smokeless tobacco, a cell phone company or an automotive parts supplier. That market is thoroughly saturated.
Vassarette makes women’s undergarments - bras and panties - and sells millions of them through its three principal retail partners - Wal-Mart, Kmart and Target.
"Their product line is sexy, fun and fashionable, so why not take that directly to the women all across the country who are fans of racing," said Gordon, who is not related to Nextel Cup drivers Jeff or Robby Gordon. "The potential market out there with our female fans is tremendous.
"In a sport where sponsorship is so critical, what better fit is there than a woman driver with a lingerie company as her main sponsor? Realistically, it would be real tough for this sponsor to hook up with a male driver. But now they have an important place in racing that is comfortable for the driver, and the sponsor."
Gordon, who ran in 11 races in the truck series last year, finished 13th at Nashville and is the only female driver to ever lead the Raybestos Rookie points race in the truck series.
She burst onto the scene in 2001 when she drove a Thunderbird in the ARCA race at Talladega Superspeedway, qualifying fifth at 182.947 mph and finishing 10th. Gordon had her first top-10 finish in the Busch Series last year at Talladega.
"I’ve been fortunate enough to be very competitive the last few years, and I really feel like it is all coming together for us now as a race team. I got used to all of the bumping and banging from my dirt-track days, and you still have that at this level. I’ve just always liked the competition out on the race track, and down here at Daytona, this is great competition."
Gordon, who said her long-term goal is to race on the Nextel Cup Series in the next few years, got her first taste of racing at a place called Green Valley Speedway in Gadsden, Ala. She entered five "powder puff" races, driving her husband’s short-track car, and won all five.
"I get asked all the time what it is like for a woman out there, and how hard it must be for a woman to do this. But realistically, that truck doesn’t know if it’s me or Dale Earnhardt, Jr., sitting at the wheel. Once you get here, there is no disadvantage to being a woman."
Gordon said the men working in her garage and manning her pit crew have no hangups whatsoever about working for a woman, or about having an intimate apparel manufacturer as their main sponsor.
"In this business, unless you are one of the really major players, sponsorship is something you worry about all of the time," Gordon said. "If you don’t get the dollars, it doesn’t matter how good you are, you can’t race. A sponsor puts life in the team, and we are thrilled to have one like Vassarette. I was wearing one of their bras when they first came to talk with me about this, so I was a customer before I became their spokesperson."
Gordon said she has made a number of friendships in her time on the racing circuit, and is always looking for information and expertise that will help her improve.
"I’ve been fortunate to get to know a lot of drivers out there and learn things from all of them. In every level I’ve ever raced at, I’ve always had a lot of support from all of the other drivers, and their respect. I don’t think that will change, even when I start winning."