38% of Hispanics are NASCAR Fans.

Hispanics are America’s fastest growing demographic – and, according to a just-released report from rEvolution and Knowledge Networks, 38% of U.S. Latinos say they are at least “Casual” Fans of NASCAR. But Hispanics have not learned to love the sport at the same pace as the general population, with just 7% saying they are “Avid” Fans (“very interested”). This first authoritative, in-depth study of Hispanic NASCAR Fans provides insights into the cultural values and preferences of U.S. Latinos related to the sport – and how these point to key actions for expanding Latino involvement with NASCAR.

Hispanic NASCAR Fans: Breaking Through to Deeper Engagement is based on the most in-depth study to date of U.S. Hispanic NASCAR fans and non-fans from different acculturation levels. The study was coproduced by leading independent sports marketing agency rEvolution and Top 25 market research firm Knowledge Networks. Research was conducted on KnowledgePanel Latino(SM), the only online research panel to represent a statistically balanced view of the U.S. Hispanic population, including those who do not have Internet access, and both predominantly Spanish-speaking and English -speaking homes.

“This was an extremely valuable and informative quantitative study for us,” said Brian Moyer, NASCAR’s Managing Director of Market and Media Research. “There were a number of critical learnings that will inform our
multi-cultural strategy and stakeholders going forward.”

By looking closely at the NASCAR likes and dislikes of U.S. Hispanics, the report provides key guidance for NASCAR itself and its sponsors. And those fans are well worth targeting; rEvolution/Knowledge Networks research on other sports shows that Hispanic fans have a higher-than-average emotional attachment to sponsors and a greater-than-average desire to reward them with their business.

Findings from the new report lead to the following important conclusions

* Know your Casual Fans: Two-thirds (67%) of Hispanic NASCAR fans are only “a little bit” interested in the sport; and the demographics of Casual Fans are much different from Avid Fans – so growing the fan base by catering to existing Hispanic devotees will not work.

* Socialize it: Hispanic fans relate to NASCAR in a more isolated way – by themselves, through TV at home or video games, for example – and don’t feel the sense of community that has helped make NASCAR a draw for Caucasian fans. The more you can do to socialize the NASCAR experience for Hispanics, the better.

* Focus on speed: The speed of stock cars racing around the track is one of NASCAR’s main draws for Hispanic fans; 59% say they were first attracted to the sport by the speed of the cars. So promotions and advertising campaigns that emphasize the speed of the cars may have an advantage with this group.

* A good driver is a winning driver: Since they’re so much less engaged with the sport, most Hispanic fans don’t even have a favorite driver – a major difference from NASCAR fans in general. Those few Hispanics who do have a favorite driver gravitate to winners; whether the driver is Hispanic is, for the most part, a secondary concern.

“This report helps shatter some misconceptions about Hispanic Fans and allows agencies like rEvolution to create solid marketing programs to energize NASCAR’s Latino fan-base,” said rEvolution’s President, John Rowady.