NASCAR

Go fast, turn left, don't crash.

NASCAR, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, is the most popular auto racing circuit in the United States. Given its broad success, it is relatively surprising that it has had few interactions took over two decades to officially connect with the Transformers brand.

The real world

NASCAR was founded in the mid 20th century as a sanctioning body for the then-unruly world of stock car racing. For decades it was only of regional interest, mostly in the Southern U.S. However, by the dawn of the 21st century, it was one of the most popular sports in the entire country. In late 1999, Hasbro acquired the NASCAR license and produced the NASCAR Racers toyline, featuring the exploits of a multi-ethnic team of drivers in a futuristic version of the NASCAR circuit. Despite a fair amount of investment from NASCAR, Hasbro, and Fox Kids, the line was not a particularly huge success, and only lasted about a year. Transformers-brand employees who worked on the line included Andrew Frankel and Aaron Archer.

In 2009, as part of the media blitz surrounding Revenge of the Fallen, Paramount Pictures, M&M's, and other related companies used their NASCAR connections to promote the film:

• June 21: Kyle Busch drove a specially decorated M&Ms/ROTF Toyota Camry in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway in California, finishing 22nd.
• October 11: As part of a sponsorship deal with ABC and ESPN, televised coverage of the 2009 Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway in California was "presented by" ROTF, and race winner Jimmie Johnson celebrated his finish in the Transformers Victory Circle.
• October 17: Continuing the ABC/ESPN promotion, coverage of the NASCAR Banking 500 Only from Bank of America in Charlotte, North Carolina was again sponsored by ROTF, and championship contenders Ryan Newman and Jeff Gordon drove ROTF Optimus Prime and Megatron-themed cars. Newman ended up in eleventh place, while Gordon finished fifth, claiming tongue-in-cheek during a post-race interview that "the bad guy won!" The Newman/Gordon challenge was marketed as a "Choose Your Side & Win" contest, with prizes including tickets to the final race of the season and ROTF DVDs signed by Megan Fox. Jimmie Johnson won (again) and celebrated (again) in the Transformers Victory Circle. In addition, ROTF director Michael Bay drove the pace car for a stretch.

The ties between NASCAR and the Transformers brand increased with the promotion surrounding Dark of the Moon:

• February 20: Michael Bay, Josh Duhamel, and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley served as Grand Marshals of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. The trio gave the command for drivers to start their engines, as well as waving the green flag to start the race. The film prop versions of Leadfoot, Roadbuster, and Topspin were on display at trackside, as well as bringing up the rear during the race's ceremonial first lap. Televised coverage of the race also included a new trailer for the film, featuring the Wreckers prominently.

Toys

• The Generation 2 Go-Bot Gearhead mold (and thus, all the other redecos of said mold) turns into an (unlicensed) ninth-generation Ford Thunderbird NASCAR racer.

• Dark of the Moon Leadfoot, Roadbuster, and Topspin all turn into approximations of Sprint Cup Chevy Impala stock cars with the paint jobs of individual NASCAR drivers.

See also

• Popular Earth vehicle alternate modes
• General Motors

Links

• NASCAR's official website.