HERE’S A NOVEL IDEA—LOCAL SPONSORSHIPS
The other day in class, we had a guest speaker and the topic of sponsorships came up. I never really thought about local sponsors until this discussion. Nowadays, NASCAR is such a big promotional campaign that a lot of people forget about the “little man.” I understand that NASCAR sponsorships are very expensive and not many local companies can afford to put their logo on a car. Lately, NASCAR has grown to be a huge sport and now the fans can’t really relate to their favorite drivers anymore.
When I was growing up, NASCAR was all about “good ol’ boys” trying to make a dollar and many fans could relate to their drivers. Now, drivers are making millions upon millions and the fans are separating from the relationship with their drivers. I think one way that NASCAR can bring back that relationship between the drivers and fans is by offering a discount to local companies wanting to put their logo on a car or even at the track. One way I think this could be done is by having sponsors for certain races. For instance, when the drivers come to Richmond International Raceway, RIR should try to promote the race name to local companies. (i.e., Ukrop’s 400—a large, local supermarket). Even some teams could offer one race sponsors for local companies at the certain track they are racing at. I also think that this would increase the fan base because people that don’t know too much about racing would see local companies on cars and would be able to relate to the drivers. This, I think, would bring more fans to NASCAR.
It just disappoints me sometimes to see that NASCAR is turning to that outlook of “it’s all about the money.” I think that NASCAR, race teams, and race tracks could afford to allow local small companies to become a sponsor at a race. I just hope that NASCAR won’t grow so much that it loses its fan base that started it all.
And that’s my view from here.
EB