As its growth stalls in a bad economy, NASCAR changes gears

[Javaman]

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/story/2012-02-05/cnbc-nascar-business/52949158/1

Until about a year ago, Jo Ann Jenkins, the president of the AARP Foundation, had been searching hard for someone, or something, to bring more awareness of what the organization considers to be a serious and overlooked issue: According to the foundation, 9 million elderly Americans are hungry.

The foundation settled on an unlikely front man: a 40-year-old millionaire with only a sprinkling of gray hair who's several years from retirement, has two young children and belts himself into a 3,500-pound stock car and drives it much faster than 10 mph.

The AARP paid an undisclosed fee — probably in the tens of millions of dollars — to Hendrick Motorsports to paint "Drive to End Hunger" on the Chevrolet raced by Jeff Gordon, four-time top-series champion, for 22 races each in the 2011, 2012 and 2013 seasons.

"It helped us reach people we wouldn't have been able to meet through community activities throughout the country," says Jenkins. "There isn't a bigger audience than we know of than the NASCAR community."

[Kurmudgeon]

1. Economy is getting better, Nascar has been stuck in the ditch for awhile.

I guess watching sticker karts where the rules are adjusted for the largest advertising budget is just not as entertaining as it once was.

[opihimoimoi]

2. The Tickets must come down in prices....its much too high...