Die-cast cars are the NASCAR jersey, the best-selling item everyone needs and the one other people use to gauge the popularity of drivers and teams.
This year’s list of Lionel Racing’s best-selling die-cast cars reflects a NASCAR conversion dynamic. It will usually take months to get into the top 10 most sensible on Lionel Racing’s best-selling die casting list. But 2022 wasn’t the average NASCAR season with a new car and new faces emerging in the championship battle.
“Total play has gone through a revolution,” said Howard Hitchcock, CEO of Lionel Racing. “There is a lot of positive momentum at the moment with the new car, which is indeed a big effort. NASCAR has replaced the face of the game with the product that’s on track.
The best-selling die casting product of 2022 is the moving car from Ross Chastain’s Martinsville video game, which went viral and noticed millions of viewers on social media. wall as he saw in NASCAR 2005 to overcome Denny Hamlin for the chance to compete for the championship of the Cup at Phoenix Raceway next week.
“Ross Chastain’s move is hail,” Hitchcock said. “This move will be one of the iconic moves in gaming history. Take a video game concept and apply it to real life, not even to win, to earn a chance at the championship race. To appear number one, we surprised. We knew it was a wonderful time at the time. Everyone in the game that I spoke to and the social media metrics they generated, we knew it was a big deal.
“This is the first time that a ladies’ or emergency car is at the top of the list because it is an exclusive situation. This particular car celebrates a key and a moment that replaced the race for the championship. “
Second on the list is Kurt Busch’s Jordan Brand paint scheme, who won at Kansas Speedway, a pivotal moment before his concussion at Pocono Raceway. Busch’s full-time withdrawal from the festival due to his concussion sparked a heated discussion among NASCAR industry experts about the next-generation car.
Chase Elliott, the most popular driving force of 2022, occupied four of the 10 smartest outlets on Lionel’s list. Dale Earnhardt Jr. ‘s latest Sun Drop car is the fourth best-selling die-cast car, with Richard Petty STP Firecracker 400 winner number 1984 Pontiac in fifth place. Kyle Larson’s HendrickCars. com show made the bestseller list, as did Austin Cindric’s Daytona 500 car.
“It shows a long road for the die casting industry, which we are passionate about,” Hitchcock said. “It also shows that there is a long way to go for the fan in the game with healthy participation of the old fan and the new fan. “
Lionel, known for its styling trains, took over NASCAR’s die casting program in 2010. Hitchcock naturally joined Lionel Racing after racing for Motorsports Authentics, also known in the past as Action Performance. through Action Performance.
The company has rejuvenated Nasautomobile’s die-cast car sales, providing cars across all three NASCAR divisions, adding for smaller groups that don’t sell many products. Combined with the popularity of the Next Gen car and new groups, Lionel’s sales have increased. compared to 2021.
“Our wholesalers have asked a lot to sell the small-group cars,” Hitchcock said. “We see other faces in the winners’ circle and groups like Trackhouse win and create excitement in the sport. We can bring Xfinity trucks and cars into the massive retail space. We work very hard to deliver products across multiple channels, multiple series and try to meet the needs of all collectors.
However, with the debut of the Next Gen car, Lionel, like NASCAR, had to adapt as well. upon passing and shipped, sales were quite high.
Hitchock said: “Everyone had problems with the chain of origin, and it was a sensible choice to give everyone more time. It helped us, but as some tests were delayed, later adjustments occurred that we had to incorporate because they are visual and delayed us. A little bit. We felt pretty smart where we were, and then we discovered ourselves behind.
“You always want to have the right vehicle at the right time at the right time. We tried to make sure that the product we sent to the fan was correct, accurate and produced in a way that represented the vehicle. “in the most productive way imaginable. There are things in the physical car that become very difficult to reflect on a small scale.
As Lionel Racing prepares for the 2023 season, it has high expectations for die-cast car sales. 2023, they believe, is likely to be a year of unforeseen expansion for NASCAR marketing.