I must be a sucker for good advertising.  I’ve never found NASCAR even slightly compelling (except for a passing obsession with Days of Thunder, get off my case), but this commercial for the 2009 Daytona 500 – back in February – has me suddenly wanting to tune in to the series.

Developed by advertising mob La Huella for Fox Sports Design, the 60 second promo is titled “NASCAR Underground” and never has a more appropriate title existed.

High quality Quicktime version here.

Originally slated as a 10 second ID to be flashed in ad breaks, the guys at Fox Sport Design realised they had a hit on their hands and pushed it out to full promo-length.

“The underground idea wasn’t really going to work as an ID, but we loved the concept as a possibility for our College Football package,” said Robert Gottlieb; Fox Sports Marketing SVP/Creative Director. “But the College Football timeline was too tight, so Mark and La huella FX changed gears and started adapting the concept to NASCAR.”

While a big chunk of the video is computer-generated 3D, it also involved live actors taking part in a very risky filming method.

“This was one of the more difficult shoots we’ve ever undertaken,” said Simmons. “Safely suspending actors 14 feet off the ground on a glass floor was a huge logistical problem.”

NASCAR Underground was commissioned after FSD saw La Huella’s amazing “Metro de Madrid” video, using the same technology to advertise Madrid’s subway system.

You can read more about the NASCAR Underground project at foxsportsdesign..