Lowe’s forced to extend NASCAR merchandise sale

A day-after-Thanksgiving tradition at Lowe's Motor Speedway will run through the weekend this year, due partly to the sour economy's effect on spending by NASCAR fans.

The Concord speedway's Souvenir and Race Ticket Blow-Out Sale usually is the Friday following Thanksgiving. Race fans across the region and from other states come not only to buy discounted merchandise, but also drive their own vehicles on the speedway oval.

But with NASCAR fans spending less on T-shirts, die-cast cars and other items in recent months – the result of high gas prices and the credit crunch – the speedway and race teams closed the season with more merchandise than usual on shelves. That was one factor in expanding the sale, now in its 16th year, to three days.

“It's no secret that we have product we want to move," said Don Hawk, vice president of business affairs for Speedway Motorsports, the parent company of Lowe's Motor Speedway.

But, Hawk added, the annual sale also was ripe for a marketing boost – the speedway bought radio, print and Internet ads this year. And stretching the event through Sunday gives people who work Friday a chance to find bargains on NASCAR merchandise, with hats and T-shirts starting at $2.

“A lot of them are shopping for Christmas," he said. “We decided to muscle up what we were doing already." More at ThatsRacin.com