Conference oass::racers

Sponsorship is a wide open area.

There are people like me, in amateur racing who are happy to get
almost any type of sponsorship from tires and wheels on up. 

Professional teams can have similar needs but usually at higher costs. 
For example, Digital gave Ferrari/Fiat VAXes to run their wind tunnel. 

Both amateur and professional teams need money, just in very different 
quantities.

What you get back varies as well. Usually, a corporation gets back 
advertising, promotion (more than advertising) and any tax advantages 
that go with spending money on these. This only begins with placing 
the name on the side of the car.

On the promotional side are usually things like tickets to races, time 
to talk with the drivers and crew members. It also can include having 
the driver give talks to various groups and display the car at events
showing the sponsors name.

Carol,

	First you need to determine what you want to get out of a sponsorship,
satisfaction of helping somone, getting more involved, helping a friend or
family member, getting a particular message across, rewarding a good but
struggling driver, etc.  Then decide what you want to spend, one lump sum,
weekly money, purchase a particularly needed part like new tires or a carb.
After you have decided these 2 then find out which class or classes of cars,
at the track you like, your sponsorship would fit.  Now you can solicit from
these classes sponsorship proposals to fit your wants and decide among them.

A good sponsorship proposal should detail what you get for your money.  Things
like frequent updates as to how the team is doing, possibly some still and
action photos signed by the driver, invitations to visit the team at their shop,
invitations to visit the team at a car show,  reduced price tickets to a race
during the season, etc.

Jilly

    
     What a coincidance, I just happen to be looking for sponsors;-), but
    looking at your node leads me to believe that you are probably too far
    away to be interested in my team.
    
     I second a lot of what Jilly said. You need to know what you want to
    get out of the deal, and how much you are willing to put into it. A lot
    also depends on what type of racer you want to sponsor. Small
    sponsorships to some forms of racing are several thousand dollars,
    whereas in some forms of racing, a couple hundred bucks can make a big
    difference. If your looking for local racers, you might consider buying
    uniforms for a team. This is a small, but signigant, gesture that can
    sometimes be as effective on team moral as a new parts for the car.
    
     I have been putting together some sponsorship proposals recently, but
    thet are targeted more towards businesses rather than individuals. This
    is simply because of the promotional and marketing opportunities the
    sport presents a business rather than an individual.
    
     If, however, an individual was to approach me and offer to sponsor the
    team, but had no business name to put on the car, there are several
    things I could do for them. I would make sure their name is put on the
    car with a big thank you note of some sort. I would also give them a
    8x10 autographed picture of the car and crew before the season began
    (want to make sure the car is straight). The tower where I drive
    announces the sponsors of the cars, so they would definetly be
    mentioned there, and depending on the amount of money contributed, pit
    passes and/or tickets to special events. Passing along a trophy or two
    is also a nice gesture.
    
     This is all from the perspective of a saturday night, short track oval
    driver. A few hundred bucks can make the difference for a lot of the
    guys where I'm at, but different classes require different amounts of
    money. A nationally touring Trans Am driver will hardly notice a $2000
    dollar contribution whereas a local racer could put that much money to
    very good use.
    
    Tony
    

    Thanks for the information. 
    
    Tony, tell me about your team - where do you race - what kind of car -
    what is your record - how many on your team - what would you expect
    from a sponsor - etc. ????????? I know nothing about race cars, I just
    was trying to think of something different for a Christmas present for
    someone who has everything.  I thought it would be fun for him to have
    a sponsorship - a picture with his name on it for his office wall -
    being able to keep track of the team - and brag to his friends that he 
    is an official sponsor of a race team.  Please tell me if something
    like this can be done for a reasonable price.
    
    Carol
    track of how the team was doing 

    
     The team I'm involved with races asphalt short ovals in Colorado. We have
    two stock cars, one complete- one under construction, and run in the street
    stock division. This is a very physical type of racing, in other words,
    cars don't stay too nice for too long. We have four members who are
    listed as official partners in the venture. As far as our record,
    that's anybodys guess as we've just formed this group. However, past
    records aren't the only coup to be counted in getting sponsors. Simply
    painting a name on the side of a car isn't exactly what you would call
    an ideal advertising situation, and the true measure of sponsorships
    usually comes outside of the asphalt arena in promotions far away from
    the track. The only thing I expect from a sponsor is consistant
    payments if we are delivering the desired results. If one or the other
    parties is falling short, then it is time to renegotiate the contract.
    I also expect the sponsor to allow the team to perform its functions
    without interfering in our direct racing activities ie. repairs,
    modifications, tuning, what have you.
    
     But that's looking at the deal from a business perspective. Your
    approach is more personal.
    
     You have come up with one of the more original christmas presents I've
    heard of in some time. What you might try is finding out if the
    reciever favors a certain type of race cars or form of racing or
    anything to get some direction from. After you get a feel for this, you
    might go to a local high performance parts store to get some info on
    tracks close by. After finding one that matches the type of car you
    want to sponsor, a call to the track could give a listing of the top
    points finishers for the past season. They may or may not be willing to
    give out phone numbers, but may be willing to act as an initial liason with
    drivers who are looking for sponsors.
    
     There is a reason why I suggest looking at some of the top finishers.
    Because of the nature of your sponsorship, gift vs business need, you
    want the recipient of the gift to have some pride in his gift. Once you
    have some names, tell them what you are doing and how much money your
    willing to spend. Ask them if they would be willing to give some
    pictures, passes, or possibly let the sponsor drive in a celebrity race
    or something, ask them what they are willing to do for your money. If
    they are beligerant, go else where. There are plenty of lower level
    drivers that will jump through some hoops for sponsor money. I suggest
    looking at some grass roots levels because these are the drivers that
    will most appreciate your money.
    
     Hope this helps give you some direction and/or ideas. Write if you
    have any more questions.
    
     Tony
    

    I have been racing on and off for 8 years. some of the sponsors that we
    have had have provided gas money for the race car (from a real estate
    office), Nitrogen, Oxygen & Acetelyn for welding and running air tools
    (compressed gases company), 2 complete sets of cylinder heads (Head
    shop), Engine machining services (machine shop), Tires (Tire
    dealer), body, frame & suspension parts (auto wrecking yard)
    Gaskets, rings, bearings, plugs, wires etc. (auto parts store) 1
    complete engine and many spare parts as needed (engine rebuilder)
    trailer hitch, trailer repairs, rollbar fabrication and repair
    (fabrication & welding shop) Paint job for car and lots of touch-ups
    (auto body shop) uniforms for crew and driver (flower shop) catered
    lunch/dinner for 6 people each week (video rental store) weekly
    uniform/clothes/rag cleaning/pressing (liquor store owners wife) car
    and tow vehicle lettering (sign company) $100 per race for expenses
    (furniture store) 8 racing rims initially and 4 as replacements during
    season (tire store) three ford 9 inch rear ends setup (transmission &
    rear end shop) weekly hand car wash (father and 12 year old son race
    fans) 3 gallons of racing fuel ($10) per race (husband & wife race
    fans).
    
    As you can see there are lots of things or services that can be donated
    as sponsorship.
    
    We run a street stock at a 1/3 mile flat paved oval/figure-8. Our
    division runs about every other week from late March to late October.
    Some sponsors want nothing more than to see their name of the name of
    their company on the car. Others have 8 X 10 glossy pictures of the car
    or of them with the car in their establishments. And yet others just
    want free passes to the races once in awhile or weekly. Many just want
    to be associated with a car (preferably a winning car). I can't express
    how much help my sponsors have provided me. I would not have been able
    to race most of the time without their help.
    
    This year, I only raced the big open competition race at the end of the
    season due to lack of sponsorship and lack of funds (I moved this
    year). I still have my car in storage and am working towards racing
    again next year on a more steady basis.
    
    Please do give a gift of sponsorship to one of the drivers at a track
    local to you. preferably one that is in an entry scale level of racing
    (they need all the help that they can get). If you do this at a local
    track you will be able to see how your driver/team is doing and could
    actually be contributing to an upcoming young star!!!
    
    Regards,
    
    	-Scott

    Well,
    
    I'm really interested as to who got the sponsership ?
    
    I know I search very hard for sponsors and sometimes it can be pretty
    disapointing.  I have been racing for 3 yrs now and have been pretty
    lucky to have one good sponsor and several personal sponsors. I am
    involved in  amature racing known as ENDURO's. This is concidered
    Spectator Races. You use just about any type of car you would like.
    Last year we used a Pontiac Firebird. We recieved 1 trophy for the
    "Best Looking Car", 1st Place Heat Race,and 9th position in our first 3
    races of 1991. In each of these races there was approximatly 110 cars.
    
       As, has been stated in the previous replies,Any type of sponsership
    is usually welcome. As for myself and my friends who help me race I
    don't think we were into last years car for more than $1000.00. Of
    course that amount does not include time and labor that everyone puts
    into getting ready for each event. But we keep doing it for the fun and
    excitment no matter what it takes to do it. 
    
    Thanks for letting me ramble.
    Dana Leavenworth

    Just going through the notes and enjoyed reading yours.  My son-in-law
    started racing ENDUROS five years ago and after two years graduated to
    Strickly Stock class.  Last year he had a good year and came in 2 or
    third four different times and then came in first once.  This year he
    did not do as well partly because of the money and it was hard to get
    sponsers this year.  The track even helped sponser him because he raced
    fair and had a lot of fans.  My daughter and I used to be part of his
    pit crew.  That is a lot of fun!!  I hopes he races next year.  I still
    go to the races, but I miss him not racing.
    
    Sally