DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - NASCAR fans are 28 percent more likely to smoke cigarettes than non-race fans, according to Simmons Market Research.
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That's why Nicorette gum has entered the sport as a sponsor.
A year after NASCAR kicked the habit of taking money from R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. as a title sponsor, the sport will welcome non-smoking products on Chip Ganassi Racing's No. 41 Dodge.
NicoDerm CQ patch, Commit lozenges and Nicorette gum will be on the rear deck lid of Casey Mears' car all year.
"It's long proven that many NASCAR fans are smokers and they are heavy smokers," said Steve Kapur, marketing director for GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare. "We've also found that many of them would like to quit smoking. So for us, this was the perfect place to be, especially because of how supportive NASCAR fans are of the sponsors."
TRADING ACTING FOR RACING: Last Saturday night's ARCA Re/Max Series race at Daytona International Speedway wasn't the kind of start Chad McCumbee wanted, but it's still better than his part-time job.
McCumbee was one of 17 drivers involved in a crash with two laps to go.
Despite crashing his Chevrolet on the backstretch, he still feels more comfortable at 180 mph than in front of the movie camera.
The Supply, N.C., native played Dale Earnhardt Jr. in ESPN's 3.
"It was the first acting I've ever done," he said. "Barry Pepper (who played the lead role as Dale Earnhardt) came through the Fast Track Driving School and he saw me and said, 'Hey, you ever act? You look like Junior.' I went and read some lines with him and I guess they figured out since I was a driver already I'd fit the part pretty good."
Earnhardt Jr. liked how Pepper portrayed his father, but he wasn't too keen on the story, calling the script "ridiculous."
CHEVROLET WANTS NEW CAR: A year after re-designing the Chevrolet Monte Carlo, General Motors wants to do it again for the 2006 season.
The new production model of the 2006 Monte Carlo was unveiled in January at the Detroit Auto Show. Chevrolet must win support for its changes from NASCAR by a Sept. 1 deadline so teams will have time to build new cars in time for the next season. Since most of the templates in NASCAR are the same for Chevrolet, Ford and Dodge, the only areas open for change are the front and rear bumpers.
