Don’t Bite the Hand That You Allows You to Race
We all see the decals on all the cars at each race we go to, some don’t have decals while others have an overwhelming amount. Why is that? What makes one person so much better than the other? Why does the sponsor choose to go with one team and not the others? Some would argue the ‘name’ of the driver or team, some would argue the winning abilities, which honestly cannot be argued against, but what else is the deciding factor in a sponsor choosing to support you, your team, your series, or track? Recognition is what it comes down to.
When speaking with my father on the subject of being a promoter of a race series, he reminded me of a key element that many in the racing industry have lost, giving ALL sponsors the proper recognition they deserve. He said, “All those decals we had on the drag car for all those years were not there because the company sent them to us because we ordered parts from them. Each and everyone of them played a part in sponsoring us one way or another. Without those sponsors, we probably would not have been able to race each weekend. Make sure you ALWAYS recognize each sponsor, no matter how big or small.”
This got me thinking, looking, and listening to see who did mention their sponsors, which sponsors were getting recognized and which were not. Were the big and small sponsors recognized, was the series sponsor recognized, was the track and sponsor recognized?
What I found was from the biggest in NASCAR drivers to the local dirt tracks, I rarely heard the drivers being interviewed say thank you to track sponsors, series sponsors, or promoters. Again, this isn’t just in one racing sanction its wide spread. Then we wonder why sponsors leave, track promoters leave, series promoters leave, sponsors stop stepping up to help those in the motorsports industry, which leads to the demise of the sport we all love.
If they don’t get recognized why should they stay? They are forking out a lot of money for you to race, to have a track to race on, to have fans in the stands, to have a schedule, shoot to have someone help with expenses because we all know this hobby is not cheap.
My question to you is, do you mention the track sponsors, series sponsors, or promoters while being interviewed? How about in your social media posts, do you tag them? Do you support them by sharing their posts? Do you encourage people to use their services or products? I can almost guarantee many do not.
Did you know sponsors watch your social media, listen to the interviews, watch your live videos, talk to your other sponsors? They watch what you post, if you tag them, if you promote them, if you support them. If you do not support your sponsors by doing things that take less than a minute to do, why should they spend money, give discounts, and encourage others to sponsor you?
Seriously, think about it, go back look, listen and decide if you would spend money on you? Would you give someone money or discounts to someone who doesn’t support you?
There are plenty of opportunities for companies, people, and corporations to sponsor something or someone, if they see Joe promoting their sponsors while Willy is only talking about the couple who are closest to them, guess who the companies, people and corporations are going to go to, Joe.
It’s simple, anytime you post about your car, your track, your series, your promoters, tag them, thank them. When you are on the podium or speaking to others, promote them, because I can tell you, they have no issues to leave you and move on or away.
Don’t bite the hand that allows you to race.
- ALICIA GARGES on Feb 12, 2025
- Article Date: 2/12/2025 by Alicia Garges