March 9, 2012
By Rebecca Gladden
There’s an old saying that the fastest way to make a small fortune in motorsports is to start with a large one.
Auto racing, by definition, is a costly proposition. The expenses involved in building vehicles, conducting research and testing, traveling to races, replacing cars damaged in wrecks, and so on makes racing one of the most expensive sports in the world for the participants.
So it’s not surprising that, in the early years of the sport, team owners and competitors found a way to help defray costs by selling sponsorships.
NASCAR race cars have often been described as ‘moving billboards,’ and company logos can be seen on everything from helmets to haulers, firesuits to fenders.
Back in the day, sponsors were typically small businesses like auto repair shops or eateries that hoped to attract new customers among the fans at the local race track.
As NASCAR’s growth picked up speed exponentially through the decades, the nation's biggest corporations began to recognize the value of fan loyalty in the sport – not only to a particular driver, but to that driver’s sponsors.
More recently, organizations outside the corporate world have jumped on the sponsorship bandwagon.
While it’s not unusual to see drivers or team owners promote their personal favorite charities and foundations, driver Jeff Gordon helped usher in a new era of cause marketing in NASCAR two years ago.
As a 2010 article in the Sports Business Journal reported, “The AARP’s three-year deal with Hendrick Motorsports, which is valued at $10 million to $15 million a year, could open the door to other long-term, cause-marketing deals. If the deal works as planned, it could show philanthropic groups how to recoup an investment in NASCAR.”
The term ‘cause marketing’ generally refers to a collaboration between a for-profit business and a not-for-profit organization. In the broader sense, the phrase can be applied to other types of marketing initiatives as well.
Just two races in to the 2012 season, NASCAR fans have already seen some noteworthy cause-related marketing campaigns take shape.
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, for example, sponsored the No. 26 Front Row Motorsports ride, driven by Tony Raines in the Daytona 500. A special patriotic paint scheme featured Santorum’s campaign messaging. The car finished 19th in the Great American Race, crossing the finish line on the lead lap.
Another car vying for a spot in the Daytona 500 was fielded by America Israel Racing (AIR), a team formed, according to a press release, “to raise awareness of the importance of America supporting Israel.”
The organization’s website (AmericaIsraelRacing.com) states, “We hope to educate Americans on the importance the United States' relationship with Israel through exposure provided by one of the largest spectator sports in the world - NASCAR.”
The No. 49 AIR car, driven by J.J. Yeley for Robinson-Blakeney Racing, attempted to make the field for the Daytona 500, but failed to qualify on time. Though not driven in the race, the car’s paint scheme prominently featured both American and Israeli flags.
These are just a few entries on a growing list of nonprofits, politicians, groups and causes - other than traditional for-profit businesses - choosing to spend their marketing dollars in NASCAR.
Certainly, team owners and the sport itself are eager to accept sponsorship money from almost any source, particularly in this depressed economy.
But, is there any cause for concern in this trend?
Some pundits have already bristled at sponsorships like Santorum's and America-Israel's, expressing uneasiness about the blurring of lines between sports and various causes and campaigns.
Even NASCAR's association with American Ethanol has raised eyebrows in some circles.
The question is, what happens when a truly controversial, perhaps even offensive group or organization tries to sponsor a race car?
In 2010, Cannabis Planet Productions issued a press release proclaiming that they had been accepted as a race car sponsor in an upcoming NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race in California. “We are very excited to be a part of NASCAR, and very proud to be making motor sports history as the first Medical Cannabis sponsored car at this level,” stated Brad Lane, Executive Producer of Cannabis Planet TV, at the time.
The car never made it on the race track, for reasons that are not entirely clear. A subsequent blog post stated, "Cannabis Planet feels that NASCAR pulled the plug once it saw marijuana leafs on the logos. NASCAR claims that it never received the necessary paperwork for the new sponsor."
Whether this story is true or a complete fabrication, it does point up the possibility that hot-button groups could attempt to deliver brand messaging through NASCAR sponsorship and, if turned down for any reason, could use that to further generate publicity and paint the sport in an unflattering light.
When it happens - and I predict it will - remember that you read it here first.
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