NASCAR, Harlequin sign licensing agreement

Research shows that of the 75 million NASCAR fans in this country, 40 percent are female. With that solid number in mind, NASCAR announced Wednesday a new licensed publishing venture that should appeal to that ever important element of its fan base.

NASCAR has entered into a licensing agreement with Harlequin Enterprises Limited, the world's leading publisher of women's fiction and series romance. Under the agreement, Harlequin will publish a variety of women's fiction titles that will be included in the NASCAR Library Collection.

The upcoming novels, written by some of Harlequin's bestselling authors, will have plotlines centering on NASCAR and will feature the NASCAR brand on their covers. Harlequin will serve as the first and only publisher of women's fiction for NASCAR.

The debut title in the new program is In the Groove, by award-winning author Pamela Britton. Set to release in late January 2006, this title will coincide with the running of the Daytona 500.

"Harlequin is thrilled to be NASCAR's first partner in fiction publishing and to bring our entertaining and enriching editorial to its audience," said Donna Hayes, publisher and CEO of Harlequin Enterprises. "NASCAR has one of the largest and most loyal bases of female fans of any of any sport in the U.S. and we are delighted to publish novels that will appeal specifically to them."

In 2004, Harlequin sold 130 million books and had 16 titles appear on the New York Times bestseller list for a total of 50 weeks. Forty percent of women's fiction readers read romance and approximately 1/6 of all adult fiction sold at retail stores are romances. Almost half of all romance readers read Harlequin and the company has some 13 million series readers.

NASCAR continues to attract more and more female fans," said Mark Dyer, NASCAR vice president of licensing. "They are an enthusiastic and loyal group who possess a unique intensity in regards to the sport. The new NASCAR Harlequin titles should be a real attraction for this segment of our fans."