Sponsorship,
the
Holy Grail of racing
By
Jeffrey Fazio
Special Sections Writer
Want
to stop your favorite amateur race car driver in their tracks? Simply
ask them: Would you rather win your next race or pick up a sponsor?
Sponsorship,
particularly on the amateur level, is so coveted that many racers
would take it over the chance to win their next race. The smart racer
realizes that with the help of a sponsor, he could look forward to
winning many races, not just the next one.
In
the world of automobile racing, sponsorship is the Holy Grail.
Although most racers seek it, many never acquire it. Some of those who
actually obtain it, sadly lose it. Like most things in my life, I just
happened to fall into it.
Although
I have been racing since 1996, last year was the first time I started
pursuing sponsorships. I never considered it until a friend suggested
it to me last May.
The
first business that I approached was ATS Racing out of Texas. They
specialize in the car that I race and I was already a customer, so it
was comfortable and easy to approach them. We easily came to an
agreement; ATS became the main sponsor of my car in exchange for a
great deal on parts.
Next,
I talked to Neil D. Fisher, owner of Fisher's Metal Finishing right
here in Reading. I had been working with Fisher on making my engine
more attractive through powder coating. I had taken several batches of
various engine pieces to him to be coated and on the last batch, Neil
and I came to an agreement. He offered some of his services in
exchange for his company's name on the car.
This
was going great, but now I had to figure out how to get these
business' names on the car. Needless to say, I was looking at getting
some vinyl lettering done.
I
contacted two other businesses that do vinyl work, World Motorsports,
Muhlenberg Township, and TurboForum, a Lancaster County-based Web
site. I was able to get all the vinyl pieces I needed between the two
businesses in exchange for their company names on the car for the 2004
race season.
Then
I learned about contingency sponsors. These are typically national
companies that pay you cash on the contingency that you win (or come
in second place) at a national event while having their sticker and
parts on your car. After learning about them, I wrote to a couple of
the companies whose products I use and I received sponsorship packets
that included their contingency stickers. Now I just have to win a few
races so I can collect their sponsorship money.
Throughout
the 2004 race season, I managed to get some coverage of my car from
various media outlets which ultimately led to more sponsorship
possibilities. Apparently, it is easier getting new sponsors when you
already have some. It's sort of like how women seem to notice you more
when you already have a girlfriend. Ever notice that?
At
any rate, Chico Race Works, Chico, Calif., and Wolfkatz Engineering
LLC of Pasadena, Calif., both contacted me with sponsorship offers for
the 2005 season. I had already been doing business with CRW, so it was
not surprising that we worked out a deal. Wolfkatz, however, was a
unique experience since I had not done business with them in the past.
Sometime
in January, I read an article on Andrew Fischer's eBay auction,
offering advertising space on his forehead via temporary tattoo for a
period of one month. That auction was won for more than $37,000 by
snorestop.com.
Being
inspired by that article, I offered advertising space on the front
fenders of my race car on eBay. The auction brought in some
interesting requests, some jokesters and actually some sincere
bidders. Unfortunately, toward the last days of the auction I had some
bidders that were being less than genuine and not playing by the eBay
rules, so I ended the auction early.
Luckily,
I managed to get enough attention from the eBay auction that I was
able to secure not just one, but three cash sponsorship deals. Up
until then, I only had parts and service sponsors.
Heidi
Nolen of Tennessee requested that the words "Rolling
Liberty" be put on the fenders of the car. She is actually not
advertising a business, she simply enjoyed the idea of sponsoring a
race car and she wanted a patriotic message of some sort.
The
second agreement came from Tim Walker of Maryland. He is a promoter of
the online gambling site LuckyCasino7.com. The third deal came from
KBOX.CA, a specialty car-parts supplier in Canada.
As
of this past week, I secured my final sponsorship for the 2005 racing
season with PA Auto Racing, Souderton, Montgomery County. We had been
discussing an arrangement for a few months and everything just finally
came together.
If
it wasn't for these sponsors, my race car would not be at the level it
is, and for that, I am truly grateful. As the days get longer and
winter's time gets shorter, the first days of the 2005 race season are
fast approaching. Because of the support I have received, I will be
ready for that first green light.
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