From the April 2017 issue
Admit it, you like watching a good face punching. We all do. Monster Energy thinks we like it as much as we like NASCAR.
Monster is the new entitlement sponsor of NASCAR?s premier racing series, now known as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, and it?s bringing its own brand of entertainment to the races beginning this year. That includes the possibility of freestyle motocross, gymkhana, off-road demos, and yes, even mixed martial arts fights in the pre-race show.
?We built our brand on doing things people think are cool,? says Mitch Covington, Monster Energy?s vice president of sports marketing. ?That won?t change here.? Americans, evidently, think caged combat is as cool as a three-car-wide, 200-mph territorial dispute. And because Monster brings with it MMA athletes such as Conor McGregor and Dominick Cruz?respected face pummelers, both?there?s likely to be action of all sorts at NASCAR events this year. It?s a match that could only be made in, well, America. God bless us.
Mitch Covington
A rear-naked choke or arm bar are far cries from prior title sponsors? sideshows, which once included longtime sponsor R.J. Reynolds handing out cigarettes (relax, they checked IDs). NASCAR can use the boost. With both event attendance and TV ratings down in recent years, NASCAR, on some level, is searching for a new identity. ?For us this is about giving NASCAR customers a lifestyle experience, not selling a product,? says Covington. Monster plans to capit...