NASCAR has pretty much always had a reputation of accessibility, with fans seeming to have more opportunities to connect with their favorite drivers than fans of other sports and athletes in other arenas. Social media—from Facebook to Twitter—has closed the gap between fans and their favorite athletes and or celebrities.
Twitter, especially, has given “regular folks” an inside look at the day-to-day lives of celebrities, be they professional athletes, singers, actors/actesses, etc. That is, as long as said celebrity has a Twitter account that he/or she utilizes on a regular basis.
An increasing number of drivers have jumped onto the Twitter bandwagon. And of those drivers, some are more active than others. Some just post racing related info. Some talk about the mundane day-to-day “regular” life stuff. And some even engage in conversations and debates with their Twitter followers.
Twitter, as well as other social media outlets, are now being viewed as important public relations and marketing tools by many race team owners and public relations representatives, so much so that drivers who are reluctant to joint the Twitter universe are practically having their arms twisted into joining the 21st cenury.
Case in point: Mark Martin at Michael Waltrip Racing. Team owner Michael Waltrip is popular and active on Twitter. The semi-retired-still-part-time driver and full-time car owner has brought the until-now Twitter shy Martin into his racing stable for a part-time 2012 effort. Apparently, Twitter activity is some kind of requirement to drive a MWR entry in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series. What makes me say that? Waltrip recently informed Martin that he now has an account on Twitter—@55MarkMartin.
Martin didn’t even know he was going to be tweeting until he already had an account, mandated by his new boss. He told his car owner that he’d probably only tweet about once a month or so, but he’s since warmed up to Twitter and is tweeting much more often. That’s totally beside the point, though.
And how was Martin’s Twitter account, created by his team owner, introduced to race fans? By press release, of course! Waltrip, apparently, considers his drivers being on Twitter so important that it warrants an official MWR press release.
Sure, there are still a few holdouts in the NASCAR community who still haven’t embraced social networking for one reason or another, but here’s a partial list of some of the drivers who are there to be followed (in no particular order), along with their Twitter handles:
Mark Martin, @55MarkMartin
Scott Speed, @ScottSpeed
Kyle Busch, @KyleBusch
Marcos Ambrose, @MarcosAmbrose
A.J. Allmendinger, @AJDinger
Joey Logano, @JLogano
Danica Patrick, @DanicaPatrick
Kenny Wallace, @Kenny_Wallace
Bobby Labonte, @Bobby_Labonte
Jimmie Johnson, @JimmieJohnson
Brad Keselowski, @Keselowski
Max Papis, @MaxPapis
Michael Waltrip, @MW55
Elliott Sadler, @Elliott_Sadler
Regan Smith, @Regan_Smith_
Jeff Gordon, @JeffGordonWeb
Kevin Harvick, @KevinHarvick
Feel free to comment, adding additional driver “official” Twitter accounts not included on the above list.
In addition to drivers on Twitter, race teams, car owners, tracks, official public relations Twitter accounts, and tweets from drivers’ wives are out there to be followed for the latest news on favorite NASCAR teams and drivers. NASCAR, itself, also has Twitter official Twitter accounts for each of its three national series. They are as follows:
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, @NASCAR
Nationwide Series, @NASCAR_NNS
Camping World Truck Series, @NASCAR_Trucks
Want to add Auto Racing Daily to the Twitter accounts you follow? Add us—@AutoRacingDaily. Facebook more your thing? Look for our fan/like page there—Auto Racing Daily. Amanda’s also on Twitter @NASCARexaminer and has a fan/like page on Facebook—NASCAR Examiner.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/31 at 02:40 PM
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