The Pros & Cons of Car Racing Sponsorship

Series Summary

Coming from the back roads of America after the second world war, drag racing's roots were planted on dry lake beds like those found in the Mojave Desert, where hot rodders had come since the early 1930s to satisfy their need...their need for speed! One could even argue that drag racing was born with Wally Parks, who nearly four decades after his birth in 1913 would found drag racing's most successful and influential sanctioning body. But ultimately the heart and soul of racing lies within the the daredevil spirit of the human heart.

In this free video series, our expert Tina Stull will teach you the basics of drag racing. Tina will go over the pros and cons of racing, the responsibilities of being a race car driver, and how to show off your sponsor and get your name out into the public domain. Tina will also show you how to find the right car, enjoy your job, be rested, eat right, keep a constant routine, focus, double check your equipment, calm down, breathe, and prepare for a run. Tina will even tell you about advertising standards, racing classes, schools, and sponsors, and what to expect at the track and from your car parts.

Video Transcript

"TINA STULL: Hi, I'm Tina Stull and I drive the Top Dragster for Interstate Batteries. On behalf of Expert Village, I want to talk to you about sponsorship in the world of racing. The first thing to consider with sponsorship is you--the easiest way to explain what your new job would be is you become a moving billboard and there are pros and cons in getting sponsorship. Obviously, the financial support is a huge thing. It allows you to do long-term budgeting and it allows you to actually look and say, "This is what it's going to cost and this is how many races I can go to." If you're relying 100% on money from outside funds, if you're just trying to supplement your racing, then there's a little bit less pressure because obviously, the dollar amount is lower. There also are some cons to it. When you--I hate to say "con" but for a lot of people it might be. There are obligations that you do. A lot of that sponsorship money goes back into maintaining that relationship. For me, it's about 20% of the funds that I get for racing, I end up by using in keeping my sponsor aware and keeping them happy at the track and so forth. So, you need to really see if it's going to work for you."