The Race Team Alliance is deepening its relationship with Wasserman to have the sports marketing agency look into the possibility of holding exhibition races, a potentially stunning development that suggests that NASCAR’s biggest teams could organize their own events in the offseason.
Wasserman Managing Dir of U.S. Will Pleasants confirmed to SBJ on Tuesday that the agency has “been hired to explore exhibition race opportunities, both domestically and internationally, via a (request-for-information proposal) — very exploratory.”
Teams are interested in this because they are struggling to turn a profit and are looking to find any possible new revenue streams, sources said. The events would likely occur in the offseason and apparently would not involve NASCAR.
NASCAR’s teams have certain rules they have to abide by as part of the charter agreement with the sanctioning body, and those include not starting competing racing series. That agreement runs through 2024. However, it appears that teams feel they have the legal standing to do some form of exhibition races, as long as they compete in non-NASCAR race cars and branded apparel.
If the RTA found an interested suitor, the exhibition races could start as early as the 2023 offseason, one of the people said.
