NASCAR Gets Romantic With Harlequin Imprint

Posted on November 28, 2005

NASCAR and Harlequin have cut a deal to publish a line of NASCAR romance novels. The novels will have NASCAR themes and be published with NASCAR logos on the covers. The first novel in the imprint is In the Groove by romance novelist Pamela Britton. In the Groove will arrive in bookstores in January just before the Daytona 500.

XM Radio's NASCAR channel has also been running a contest to find the best or funniest NASCAR romance novel titles. It may sound like a funny deal at first -- it was even discussed on Comedy's Central's The Colbert Report. But NASCAR and Harlequin may be on to something because NASCAR's fan base is 40% women and romance readers buy lots of books as Pamela Britton points out in a Note from Pam called "I Ain't Writin' No Trashy Novels."

NASCAR may have as many 75 million fans so 40% of that makes for a potentially very large market. NASCAR can also sell the novels along with its other NASCAR products, which include apparel, accessories, collectibles, toys and more.