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NASCAR is launching a nationwide search for an advertising agency to help coordinate its push to reach new fans, particularly young and multicultural audiences.

It’s part of a larger undertaking that focuses on building driver’s individual star power, engaging fans at the racetrack and at home, reaching young people, Hispanics and African Americans, and growing the sport’s digital and social media presences.

The full-service agency will help develop what the future of marketing looks like for NASCAR as it continues to grow the sport, said Kim Brink, director of brand and consumer marketing.

“It might not be TV. It might be stunts. It might be integrating with our PR team,” Brink said. “It’s definitely not the traditional model of TV, print, radio. It’s who you’re going after, understanding their nuances.”

The new marketing campaign is scheduled to launch along with the Daytona 500 next February.

NASCAR is a private company based in Daytona Beach, Fla., but has a sizable office in Charlotte. It has been with its current advertising agency -- JUMP Co. – since 2005. JUMP will join a handful of other ad agencies in competing for the account.

NASCAR does not release its advertising budget, but Brink said the new initiative will involve spending significantly more than it has in the past.

The new initiative comes only a few months after Brink joined NASCAR. She came to Charlotte in November after 20 years at General Motors overseeing marketing and promotion for the Chevrolet and Cadillac brands.

And it also comes as the sport seeks to regain its status as one of the country’s fastest-growing sports. In the early part of the decade, NASCAR boomed in popularity. But TV audiences and attendance began declining in 2006 as the housing market and economy began to stumble.

Some drivers already have latched on to the notion of social media marketing and building star power.

In recent weeks, driver Brad Keselowski has been making a name for himself through Twitter. He gained more than 100,000 followers after tweeting from the Daytona 500, and sent another message from Victory Lane at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday.

“That’s a perfect example,” Brink said. “That’s letting their personalities come through.”