Corporate Sponsorship

The corporate accounting office is going to want those return on investment numbers -- stat! Everyone else in the company wants a skybox and all-you-can-eat corn dogs. No problem -- just remember, in the world of NASCAR sponsorships, everything is negotiable.

If a company has signed a sponsorship deal with a team, they may be able to negotiate to have Dale Jr. at the corporate picnic. It doesn't get them grandstand tickets or even the right to have a booth at the track. That requires a track-level sponsorship.

The green flag signals the start of another NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.
Jamie Squire/Getty Images
If you sponsor a race, you might even be able to talk NASCAR into letting you wave the green flag.

Sponsoring a race at the track level means the event is named after your company -- the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, for example. This will set the company back $500,000 to $2 million, depending on the venue. But the perks are numerous, and, with good negotiating skills, can include:

  • Venue signage
  • Sponsor logos on the tickets and race programs
  • Skybox, VIP tickets, hospitality tent
  • Pace car rides
    • ­
  • Pit tours and passes
  • Access to drivers' meetings and the Winner's Circle
  • Being the Grand Marshal, waving the green flag, or giving the trophy to the winner
  • Saying "Gentlemen, start your engines!"
  • Unlimited corn dogs could be worked out -- for a price
The Candidate's Car
In the summer of 2008, an Internet rumor flew around the globe: U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was trying to court the red-state vote by sponsoring a NASCAR team for the August 3 Pocono race. Turns out it wasn't true. BAM Racing, with Ken Schrader at the wheel of the team's Toyota, offered the sponsorship slot to both Obama and Republican nominee John McCain, but neither party took the sponsorship bait.

All right, let's put it all together and see what this would look like if we held the HowStuffWorks 500.