Changes to NASCAR sanctioning agreements this year
NASCAR has added new language to its sanction agreements that prohibit anything resembling the Sprint Cup Series at tracks that have Sprint Cup races. Because Dover International Speedway's entire business is virtually reliant on its two NASCAR weekends, Dover filed select financial information as well as its entire Sprint Cup sanction agreements with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week. The money Dover will get from the NASCAR television package will increase from 3.37 percent to 4.25 percent annually over the next five years. Dover will receive $30.7 million in television money for its two Sprint Cup weekends … and it will increase anywhere from $1.1 million to $1.4 million a year through 2020.
The sanction agreement also includes some new language — interesting language from the standpoint that NASCAR has now banned any races of similar cars at the tracks where Sprint Cup competes. Among other new items in the five-year sanction agreements:
- NASCAR will tell promoters by April 1 the dates of their races for the following year.
- There is a new section on "secondary ancillary rights" fees that will be distributed 60 percent to teams, 30 percent to promoters and 10 percent to NASCAR. These would be non-live broadcast rights for highlights and other digital content, including licensing to fantasy games for use of driver and team images.
- There is a new section called "event standards" that creates a promoter council and requires that the tracks and NASCAR will work together to create series-wide and event-specific criteria relative to fan experience, remote viewers experience, promotion of events and stature of events – and that NASCAR and the track would put together a plan to rectify any shortfalls or deficiencies.
- NASCAR will now require pace vehicles to be only those from manufacturers that participate in NASCAR competition, with any track deals with other manufacturers grandfathered in for 2016. ESPN.com