Nascar ‘hires’ CAA Sports to help find new chief commercial officer – BlackBook Motorsport

Nascar has brought in Creative Artists Agency (CAA) Sports to help it find a new chief commercial officer, according to Sports Business Journal (SBJ).

(Un)confirmed:

• CCO role will oversee sales for Nascar’s premier and official partner categories, race entitlements and official partnerships at track level, and media sales including Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Nascar Digital Media
• Nascar open to having CCO based in New York, Charlotte or Daytona Beach
• Executive expected to work closely with media rights holders, venues not owned by Nascar, and teams
• Role will report into Nascar executive vice president and chief media and revenue officer Brian Herbst

Context:

Nascar’s sponsorship sales division is going through a shakeup after chief revenue officer Daryl Wolfe said he would retire at the end of this season. The US stock car racing series has also laid off several dozen staff this summer, including some members of the organisation’s sponsorship sales division.

Across its 2023 portfolio of sponsors, Nascar was estimated to bring in US$425.06 million in revenue, according to Forbes. The series is keen to increase future revenue growth both in its home market and overseas, particularly at time when it faces stiffer competition from Formula One and MotoGP.

Nascar has previously worked with CAA’s Evolution Media Capital (EMC) subsidiary over its media rights strategy, which saw the series strike a seven-year extension last November reportedly worth US$7.7 billion with Fox Sports, NBC, Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) and Amazon. Variety also reported in February that Nascar had teamed up with CAA to bolster the series’ production arm.

Coming next:

SBJ reports that CAA is expected to cast a wide net in the search for Nascar’s next chief commercial officer, which could be completed by the end of the year.

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