Up in Smoke? : Motor Racing Industry Is Waiting to Exhale Amid Reports of Regulations on Tobacco Advertisers and Sponsors

In a move that could potentially put the brakes on a multimillion-dollar annual paycheck from the tobacco industry, the motor racing industry braced itself amid reports that President Clinton would reveal plans today to allow the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco as an addictive drug.

One of the key areas of concern is a proposed regulation that would restrict advertising and curtail tobacco company sponsorship of programs such as the Winston Cup stock car racing series, the National Hot Rod Assn. Winston Drag Racing series and Marlboro’s sponsorship of Indy cars and races.

“We’re saying what we said a year ago, when President Clinton first made his proposals, that we’d have to wait and see the actual text, to see how it might affect our involvement,” said Nat Walker, a spokesman for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

RJR, through its Sports Marketing Enterprises, spends more than $40 million annually on its motor racing programs in prize money, advertising, bonuses and signs at more than 200 race tracks in the United States.

That includes $6 million in bonus payouts to drivers in the 31-race Winston Cup series, $2.2 million for a 20-event NHRA drag-racing series, and $625,000 for the Winston Racing Series that involves 125 short-track venues such as the Orange Show Speedway in San Bernardino, Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield and Cajon Speedway in El Cajon.

“We obviously believe that the effort is misguided,” Walker said. “If the goal is to curb minors smoking, there are better ways than creating huge federal bureaucracies. All 50 states have laws that prohibit tobacco sales to minors, and those laws should be enforced.”

Reaction from NASCAR insiders, whose events are the most heavily attended and heavily involved financially, was on the angry side. Attendance at NASCAR events has made stock car racing one of the nation’s fastest growing sports. Attendance last year soared 47% to more than 10 million, and NASCAR races had a television viewership of more than 120 million, a 23% increase over 1994.

“We’re not going to speak on that issue until we hear what the president says,” John Griffin, a NASCAR spokesman, said of the issue. “But there will be lawsuits, restraining orders and the like.”

H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler, whose Speedway Motorsports Inc. owns or holds an interest in five major tracks in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, told the Associated Press, “It could have all kind of short- and long-term problems. I think [Winston has] been pretty darn responsible in how they’ve promoted the product with all the heat they’ve had on them. I think as long as it’s a legalized product, they’ve got the right to promote it.”

Jim Hunter, president of Darlington Speedway, one of the original NASCAR tracks in South Carolina, said, “It all goes back to getting the government out of our daily lives. This is still America, isn’t it? Somehow, this administration seems to think they can do things better than private entrepreneurs, and all you have to do is look at the government to know that’s incorrect.”

Philip Morris, which bankrolls Marlboro sponsorship in Indy car racing, declined comment beyond a statement in which it defended smokers’ rights and said it would “continue to oppose any attempt” by the FDA “to seize authority from Congress and illegally assert regulatory control over tobacco products.”

Marlboro, besides being the sponsor of Roger Penske’s Indy cars, also sponsors a 500-mile race at Michigan International Speedway, owned by Penske Corp.

Walt Czarnecki, Penske executive vice president, said tobacco’s sponsorship is important not only for his company but also for racing fans, “because it’s been able to keep the cost of events reasonable, and has helped promoters to keep ticket prices down.”

Penske Corp. also operates a track at Nazareth, Pa., and is building a two-mile racing oval in Fontana, the California Speedway, which will open next June.

T. Wayne Robertson, president of RJR’s Sports Marketing Enterprises, estimated that the cost of tickets to major NASCAR events might be doubled without the financial support of Winston.

The Long Beach Grand Prix, even though the overall event is sponsored by Toyota, receives financial support from Philip Morris.

“Marlboro has been a major sponsor of our race, a good corporate sponsor which has used our race for hospitality purposes,” said Jim Michaelian, executive vice president of the Long Beach Grand Prix Assn. “It would be premature, however, to make any assessment as to how this whole situation would affect the Long Beach Grand Prix until more is known. That may be a long time yet.”

Hunter’s Darlington track will be the site of the Mountain Dew Southern 500 on Sept. 1; driver Dale Jarrett can win a $1-million bonus, the Winston Select Million, by winning the race. The Winston Select Million goes to any driver who wins three of NASCAR’s four major races--the Daytona 500, the Winston Select 500 at Talladega, Ala.; the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, N.C., and the Southern 500.

Jarrett became eligible for it when he won the Daytona and Charlotte races.

Officials at the Glendora-based NHRA said they wanted to wait until more was known about the president’s proposal before they made any decisions.

“We will take a look at the official proposal, see how it affects us and then decide what direction we might take,” said Denny Darnell, an NHRA spokesman. “We could speculate all we want, but until we know precisely what he’s proposing, it is hard to respond.

“We have welcomed the support of RJR in our sport. They have been a good partner and we have had tremendous growth working together. We want to see what the president’s action will have on that relationship.”

One of Clinton’s main targets has been the Smokin’ Joe’s cars, motorcycles and boats, garish yellow and purple advertising tools that feature Joe Camel, a cartoon character.

Steve Woomer, owner of the Smokin’ Joe’s unlimited hydroplane that Mark Tate drives, said the Clinton regulation, if enforced, would put him out of business.

“What I think of that regulation, at least what I’ve heard of it, would not be repeatable, certainly not in a daily newspaper,” Woomer said from his home in Auburn, Wash. “As far as my racing career is concerned, it would probably be the end of it. Racing hydroplanes is an expensive business, and without a million or more I get from RJR, I wouldn’t be able to stay in it.

“As far as I can see, it’s strictly a political ploy by Clinton, and it may backfire on him. There are millions of race fans out there, most of whom don’t even smoke, who will be just as upset as the smokers are with this crazy proposition.”

Other Smokin’ Joe’s entries include a Ford Thunderbird driven by Jimmy Spencer in Winston Cup, a top-fuel dragster driven by Jim Head and a Ford funny car driven by Whit Bazemore in the NHRA and two motorcycles in the American Motorcyclist Assn.’s Superbike series ridden by series champion Miguel Duhamel and Steve Crevier.

According to reports, Clinton’s main objective is to cut down or eliminate teenage smoking, but that is met with skepticism in the racing fraternity.

“A recent Gallup poll questioned adult smokers on what caused them to start smoking, and advertising did not even register,” said Chris Powell, an RJR spokesman. “People start smoking from personal influences, family, friends, peers--not because of race car sponsorships.

“Winston has been a sponsor for 26 years, since 1971, and if it is so seductive to young people, then why is Winston hardly named as the brand of choice among young smokers? According to the federal Centers for Disease Control, which conducted a survey among smokers 18 and under, the use of the Winston brand was less than 2%.

“Our company spends millions on programs aimed at preventing young people from smoking, programs in the middle schools and junior high schools, and we give retailers tools to train employees not to sell cigarettes to minors.

“Our objective is to reach out to adults who do smoke, build their loyalty around our brand, or if they smoke other brands, find a way to make them switch. We never, never, aim our programs at minors.”

Motor sports aren’t the only beneficiaries of tobacco company money. The professional billiards tour is sponsored by the Camel brand, and Anaheim Stadium has tobacco advertising on display. However, Dodger Stadium, the Pond of Anaheim, Sports Arena, Coliseum, Rose Bowl and Forum do not accept tobacco advertising.

* CLINTON’S RISK: Some experts question promoting proposed new tobacco regulations as a children’s issue, saying it ignores other dangers and could backfire on the president. A28