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CNN Sunday Morning

Interview With Dallas McCade

Aired November 16, 2003 - 09:42   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN ANCHOR: Today's the last race of the NASCAR season. But the title's already been won. Wisconsin native Matt Kenseth clinched the championship last week with a strong finish in Rockingham, North Carolina. Kenseth won only one race this year, but he finished in the top ten, a series best, 25 times out of 35 races.
Consistency has always been rewarded in NASCAR, just as the consistent sponsorship of Winston built Winston Cup racing and NASCAR into a multi-billion dollar enterprise. But now as this season ends, so does that partnership.

Joining me to talk about the changing face of stock car racing is NASCAR radio personality Dallas McCade, here on the Eagle 106.7 here in Atlanta, host of the "At The Happy Hour" NASCAR show. We're very pleased to have her. Thanks for coming in.

DALLAS MCCADE, NASCAR RADIO PERSONALITY: Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure to be here.

SAN MIGUEL: Matt Kenseth is going to be the answer to a trivia question, who won the last Winston Cup series? What does it say that Nextel is the sponsor of the series? What does it say about the kind of year NASCAR had?

MCCADE: Well, it has said it's the end of an era. With Winston going out, over 30 years they sponsored this and they've made it what it is today. With Nextel coming in, it kind of opens up a whole wide spectrum. We are talking about a $700 million sponsorship over a ten- year period. And it just -- I don't know the figures, but I don't think Winston probably ever spent quite that much money.

SAN MIGUEL: No. Probably not. They better sell an awful lot of cell phones over the next year or two.

Aren't you seeing on the decals that are on the cars themselves indicating the sponsorships and endorsements, some changes there as well?

MCCADE: Absolutely. Years ago, and I have been a fan for so long, for the most part of my young adult life and into my 30s now, years ago it was tobacco companies, it was a Levi Garrett car, it was a Skoal car, it was a Marlboro car that kind of branding. Today it's everything. It appeals to everyone, to housewives, to their husbands, to the kids. You know, Kyle Petty a few years ago ran a Hot Wheels car, a Mattel toys car. You have U.P.S. involved now, gas companies. It's such a huge circle of sponsorships now.

SAN MIGUEL: It's always been a family friendly sport. You can bring the whole family out to the barbecues and all that. It's probably going to make some people feel pretty good that a tobacco company is no longer sponsoring it.

MCCADE: I think that probably is true. That's kind of a 50/50 thing, too. Maybe there's another generation of people out there -- that would be the older generation, I smoked all my life, that was part of it. But then there's a new generation, and it goes along with public smoking being banned in places and stuff like that. You're just seeing a change in the times.

SAN MIGUEL: Tell me, the year in review here for NASCAR, probably one of best in terms of recognition. You had everybody - You had Senator Bob Graham had a car in one of the circuits. You had -- now politicians talking about attracting NASCAR dads, not the soccer moms, the NASCAR dads. The demographic, would you say this has probably been the best year ever for NASCAR in terms of getting a bigger audience?

MCCADE: Without a doubt. There are people that go to NASCAR races that make $10,000 a year; there are people at NASCAR races who make $10 million a year. There is no one set of particular type of people. It's everybody. And it's a very family thing. When one person usually is involved in the NASCAR -- being a fan, the entire family is.

SAN MIGUEL: Does that come with more respect? When I worked in New York and would mention NASCAR, some folks up there, still stuck with the stereotype, as I'm sure you're aware.

MCCADE: Am I ever.

SAN MIGUEL: They would deduct a few IQ points from you if you mention NASCAR.

MCCADE: Can I use the word? Redneck. They always say it's the redneck sport. It was dubbed that way when I was growing up. Because kids I went to school with would go, I don't understand what you see in that. But today, they're NASCAR fans, which is kind of funny.

SAN MIGUEL: This is the hip thing now.

MCCADE: It absolutely is.

SAN MIGUEL: All right.

MCCADE: It's very hip and happening.

SAN MIGUEL: The name of the show is "The Happy Hour" that you can hear here in Atlanta. And Dallas McCade, thanks so much for your time and for sharing your expertise.

MCCADE: Thank you very much. I certainly appreciate it.

SAN MIGUEL: We appreciate you coming on. Thanks for being with us.

MCCADE: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired November 16, 2003 - 09:42   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN ANCHOR: Today's the last race of the NASCAR season. But the title's already been won. Wisconsin native Matt Kenseth clinched the championship last week with a strong finish in Rockingham, North Carolina. Kenseth won only one race this year, but he finished in the top ten, a series best, 25 times out of 35 races.
Consistency has always been rewarded in NASCAR, just as the consistent sponsorship of Winston built Winston Cup racing and NASCAR into a multi-billion dollar enterprise. But now as this season ends, so does that partnership.

Joining me to talk about the changing face of stock car racing is NASCAR radio personality Dallas McCade, here on the Eagle 106.7 here in Atlanta, host of the "At The Happy Hour" NASCAR show. We're very pleased to have her. Thanks for coming in.

DALLAS MCCADE, NASCAR RADIO PERSONALITY: Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure to be here.

SAN MIGUEL: Matt Kenseth is going to be the answer to a trivia question, who won the last Winston Cup series? What does it say that Nextel is the sponsor of the series? What does it say about the kind of year NASCAR had?

MCCADE: Well, it has said it's the end of an era. With Winston going out, over 30 years they sponsored this and they've made it what it is today. With Nextel coming in, it kind of opens up a whole wide spectrum. We are talking about a $700 million sponsorship over a ten- year period. And it just -- I don't know the figures, but I don't think Winston probably ever spent quite that much money.

SAN MIGUEL: No. Probably not. They better sell an awful lot of cell phones over the next year or two.

Aren't you seeing on the decals that are on the cars themselves indicating the sponsorships and endorsements, some changes there as well?

MCCADE: Absolutely. Years ago, and I have been a fan for so long, for the most part of my young adult life and into my 30s now, years ago it was tobacco companies, it was a Levi Garrett car, it was a Skoal car, it was a Marlboro car that kind of branding. Today it's everything. It appeals to everyone, to housewives, to their husbands, to the kids. You know, Kyle Petty a few years ago ran a Hot Wheels car, a Mattel toys car. You have U.P.S. involved now, gas companies. It's such a huge circle of sponsorships now.

SAN MIGUEL: It's always been a family friendly sport. You can bring the whole family out to the barbecues and all that. It's probably going to make some people feel pretty good that a tobacco company is no longer sponsoring it.

MCCADE: I think that probably is true. That's kind of a 50/50 thing, too. Maybe there's another generation of people out there -- that would be the older generation, I smoked all my life, that was part of it. But then there's a new generation, and it goes along with public smoking being banned in places and stuff like that. You're just seeing a change in the times.

SAN MIGUEL: Tell me, the year in review here for NASCAR, probably one of best in terms of recognition. You had everybody - You had Senator Bob Graham had a car in one of the circuits. You had -- now politicians talking about attracting NASCAR dads, not the soccer moms, the NASCAR dads. The demographic, would you say this has probably been the best year ever for NASCAR in terms of getting a bigger audience?

MCCADE: Without a doubt. There are people that go to NASCAR races that make $10,000 a year; there are people at NASCAR races who make $10 million a year. There is no one set of particular type of people. It's everybody. And it's a very family thing. When one person usually is involved in the NASCAR -- being a fan, the entire family is.

SAN MIGUEL: Does that come with more respect? When I worked in New York and would mention NASCAR, some folks up there, still stuck with the stereotype, as I'm sure you're aware.

MCCADE: Am I ever.

SAN MIGUEL: They would deduct a few IQ points from you if you mention NASCAR.

MCCADE: Can I use the word? Redneck. They always say it's the redneck sport. It was dubbed that way when I was growing up. Because kids I went to school with would go, I don't understand what you see in that. But today, they're NASCAR fans, which is kind of funny.

SAN MIGUEL: This is the hip thing now.

MCCADE: It absolutely is.

SAN MIGUEL: All right.

MCCADE: It's very hip and happening.

SAN MIGUEL: The name of the show is "The Happy Hour" that you can hear here in Atlanta. And Dallas McCade, thanks so much for your time and for sharing your expertise.

MCCADE: Thank you very much. I certainly appreciate it.

SAN MIGUEL: We appreciate you coming on. Thanks for being with us.

MCCADE: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com