Penske Leisure has compiled two lists of its main NTT IndyCar Collection drivers for RACER within the custom of the NBA, NFL, and different stick-and-ball sporting leagues which publish annual lists of high jersey and merchandise gross sales for its hottest gamers.
The chief from 2024 ought to come as no shock as IndyCar’s hottest driver — Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward — led the sphere in merchandise gross sales via the sequence’ official distributors.
Prime 10 NTT IndyCar Collection drivers in general merchandise gross sales:
- Pato O’Ward
- Josef Newgarden
- Alexander Rossi
- Scott Dixon
- Romain Grosjean
- Colton Herta
- Alex Palou
- Will Energy
- Scott McLaughlin
- Kyle Kirkwood
The younger Mexican additionally continued to capitalize on his recognition via impartial pop-up tents promoting his line of hats and shirts, together with the “Pato Who?” line that emerged in direction of the top of the 12 months, however these non-public gross sales figures aren’t included in IndyCar’s tallies.
Again-to-back Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden, who embraced carrying the proverbial black hat and was sometimes booed by followers at pre-race driver introductions, didn’t see a downturn in recognition amongst merchandise gross sales attributable to his loyal followers and positioned second on the chart. Alexander Rossi, IndyCar’s longstanding king of quirkiness, additionally noticed his devoted base of followers spend freely final season, which gave Arrow McLaren drivers P1 and P3 on the record.
With Newgarden in P2, Will Energy in P8, and Scott McLaughlin in P9, Group Penske is the one entrant to have its total roster place inside the highest 10. Of curiosity elsewhere on the record is how the merchandise high 10 almost matches the highest 10 finishers within the drivers’ championship. 9 out of the ten are represented within the high 10 for merchandise gross sales, barring Romain Grosjean, who ranked seventeenth within the drivers’ standings. Solely A.J. Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci, who positioned ninth within the championship, is lacking from the merchandise high 10.
Wanting on the driver-specific objects which held essentially the most curiosity for followers, it was jerseys and automobile fashions.
Prime 5 NTT IndyCar Collection driver merchandise:
- Pato O’Ward jersey
- Pato O’Ward diecast
- Josef Newgarden jersey
- Alexander Rossi jersey
- Scott Dixon jersey
The Group Penske merchandise trailer did brisk enterprise for all three of its drivers. Motorsport Pictures
Penske Leisure shared different fascinating notes from the season of merchandise gross sales, beginning with, “Outdoors of the Indy 500, the Honda Indy Toronto race weekend was the highest-selling cease on the NTT IndyCar Collection schedule,” and the choices to followers additionally had a brand new entry with buying and selling playing cards made by Parkside Collectables, which have been within the “high 5 of general product models offered.”
“Merchandise is just not transactional, so I believe the numbers are reflective of fan curiosity, but additionally ardent fan curiosity, in order that’s one factor that I believe stands proud,” Penske VP of Communications Alex Damron instructed RACER. “Total, we now have an amazing variety of proficient drivers with nice personalities and merchandise as an entire is a rising area for us, and that’s primarily pushed by fan curiosity within the stars of the NTT Indy Automobile Collection.
“That is the seventh 12 months in a row we’ve seen merchandise gross sales general rise — excluding the seasons the place attendance was affected by COVID-19 — and a part of that’s having a really focused technique to deliver new merchandise into the market and new choices for followers to have in entrance of them once they arrive on the monitor on a race weekend or go to the IndyCar retailer.
“One other piece of the puzzle has been actually working extra carefully with groups and drivers to do particular merchandise runs and create product that will likely be actually interesting to their particular person fan bases.”
The sequence additionally makes use of the gross sales metrics in apparent methods to ramp up merchandise for these whose merchandise are performing effectively and search for new objects to incorporate for the next season.
“We actually take a look at the highest of the record from a planning perspective and see what followers are most obsessed with from a buying perspective, and that actually, at instances, can open further conversations concerning prolonged merchandise strains and particular promotions,” Damron mentioned. “We need to ensure when followers are shopping for a number of a sure product that we’re enlargement alternatives which might be good, at the beginning, for the person driver, but additionally drive some constructive profit for the sequence and workforce.
“I believe, given the truth that merchandise gross sales have continued to broaden and virtually each quantity you would possibly take a look at is shifting in the appropriate route, that bodes effectively for the whole roster of drivers general, when it comes to alternatives we might be able to supply shifting ahead. The flexibility to get further product, each as a point-of-sale alternative throughout a race weekend, or additionally on the IndyCar retailer shifting ahead, does exist.”
One space Damron declined to debate was the merchandise income sharing that takes place between Penske Leisure and its drivers and groups whose names or likenesses are used on the vary of official IndyCar merchandise.
Talking with one driver and one workforce proprietor who requested to have their names withheld, the driving force described their annual share as “very, very, very small,” and the proprietor offered their take as being “miniscule,” however no percentages got.
