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 While no charges have been filed against 43-year-old Stewart, who
is one of auto racing's biggest names, the incident that killed
Kevin Ward Jr. during a race in upstate New York on Saturday could
still spook the backers whose brand logos cover Stewart's sleek race
car.
"For any of those companies that have relationships with Tony
Stewart or his team, I think they're all probably in a 'Let's take a
step back and assess this relationship' mode in light of the tragic
incident," said Jim Andrews, senior vice president at IEG, a
consulting firm.
While sponsorship is a factor across the professional sporting
world, NASCAR teams rely heavily on backers from companies that foot
their hefty expenses in exchange for the exposure in front of the
thousands of fans who head out to tracks and millions that watch the
races on television.
Stewart's sponsors include outdoor retailer Bass Pro Shops, which as
title sponsor pays up to $20 million per season, according to sports
marketing analysts, and secondary sponsors ExxonMobil Corp and
Coca-Cola Inc, who pay lesser amounts.
Police on Tuesday said they would take another two weeks to
investigate Saturday's incident, in which Ward jumped out of his car
and, while standing on the middle of the track, pointed angrily at
Stewart, who struck the 20-year-old when he came around on the next
lap.
"If there are no criminal charges here, I think they have to at
least go through the process of saying, 'Has this diminished the
value of this association because he got involved in this incident,
even if it was an accident?'" said Andrews.
"Whether any of those companies will say, 'This is the tipping point
for us and we need to take a hard look at ending our relationship,'
I'm not sure."
Stewart, despite his brilliance as a driver, has gotten into fist
fights with rivals and has a take-no-prisoners approach with other
drivers concerning his position on the track.
"NASCAR isn't going to be any different than golf with Tiger Woods
or Michael Vick and the NFL," said Michael Cramer, director of the
Texas Program in Sports and Media at the University of Texas-Austin.
"But when bad boy goes to an incident that involves the death of
another person, whether it was intended or not, it will impact
sponsors, as we've seen in the past for lesser activity than this."
Andrews said the accident on Saturday has to be viewed with
Stewart's overall attitude.
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"If you look at the sum total here, you start to say, do we have a pattern
of behavior here that is going to open the possibility here that this is
going to happen again," he said.
The speed with which sponsors can cut ties with a sports franchise was
illustrated this spring after racist comments by former Los Angeles
Clippers owner Donald Sterling emerged, prompting backers including auto
dealer CarMax Inc, Virgin America airlines and State Farm insurance to
pull back from their dealings with the team.
The team on Tuesday was sold to former Microsoft Corp chief Steve
Ballmer, according to the National Basketball Association.
Despite his volatile personality, Stewart remains a valuable mouthpiece
for sponsors.
"Tony Stewart has very, very deep and long-lasting relationships with
his sponsors," said Ramsey Poston, a former NASCAR executive now the
president of public relations firm Tuckahoe Strategies.
"These sponsors depend on drivers who can connect with this very
passionate fan base. And he's done that probably better than anyone.
He's the rare driver who has crossed over into the mainstream. He's
known outside the NASCAR world."
Bass Pro Shops issued a statement after Saturday's fatality that read,
in part, "We send our thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of
sprint car competitor Kevin Ward Jr. and also to Tony Stewart and
everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing."
Exxon also voiced its condolences.
(Reporting by Steve Ginsburg; Editing by Scott Malone and Lisa Shumaker)
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