I was on the coast in Southern Africa when I was introduced “as working for NASCAR.” As I began to explain, “No, not for NAS..” the other party said, “You mean like Robby Gordon?”
They knew of NASCAR through the Dakar Rally. Years earlier Gordon had started infiltrating the global ranks, not for his prowess on the once-popular NASCAR circuit. It was his bravado and vehicles from the ASO feed that was reaching the global audience.
That feed goes worldwide. In English. And in Spanish. Now more so in Arabic with the Dakar rally having just concluded in Saudia Arabia.
Without Gordon as the cross-over star, there is little interest from the NASCAR community – however, the off-road community continues to strive. Chalk it up to covid 19, tribalism and a surge in the market of sales of high-performance vehicles produced by Powersports leaders including Polaris and Can-Am, and increasingly viable Speed UTV coming to market from Robby Gordon.
Which brings us back to the Dakar Rally. Will Robby Gordon enter Speed UTV in the 2022 Dakar Rally.
Time will tell.