NASCAR Should Use Bachelor's Emily Maynard, Brad Womack to Advertising Advantage

Spoiler alert! If you are a fan of The Bachelor 15 and do not know what is happening online, then stop reading.

Reality Steve is eating crow again and losing credibility. He missed on last year’s The Bachelorette and is retracting his statements on this year’s The Bachelor.

For a long time, Reality Steve has been adamant that Brad Womack picks Chantel O’Brien on the final show. Now he admits he is wrong and states on his blog that Brad picks Emily Maynard.

This comes as no surprise, as it has been so obvious on the show that Brad gives Emily “special” attention—so special that other women on the show have been jealous. 

ABC has done a good job the last two seasons of keeping the final outcome a secret and is using websites like Reality Steve to produce discussion and advertising that would otherwise not exist. The ratings of the show have been steadily increasing with a following of over 10 million viewers. Don’t be surprised if the finale airing March 14 will have over 15 million viewers watching.

After the show, Emily Maynard will likely be a household name and one of the most popular contestants ever on the show. She and Brad will appear on talk shows, news columns and stories. NASCAR needs to capitalize on this popularity, much like professional bull riding capitalized on Ty Murray’s run on the hit TV show Dancing with the Stars.

Millions of viewers are familiar with Emily’s story. Almost seven years ago, her fiancé Ricky Hendrick was killed in a tragic airplane accident. Ricky was a NASCAR driver.

One of the most poignant moments in the show was when Emily drove a car on the same track that Ricky had his last race. With tears in her eyes, she courageously stepped into the car and drove around the track. Afterwards, she stated that the first two laps were for Ricky.

NASCAR needs to continue to ride the Emily/Brad wave afterwards. Maybe they can come to races. Maybe they can do commercials for NASCAR. Maybe they can be used to promote races. NASCAR needs to take a chance and funnel some money into using Emily’s story and association with NASCAR to their advertising advantage.

After March 14, Emily will be America’s sweetheart, and Brad Womack does not have to hide how lucky of a man he is. People will be paying attention to Emily. NASCAR can use this.