CONCORD, N.C. (April 1, 2010) -- In an unprecedented move, Carter-Shaw Motorsports announced today that it will be offering potential sponsors a unique opportunity this season. For the first time in auto racing history, a race team will be offering sponsorship on the underside of its race cars.

“We know it’s unusual,” states co-owner Wes Carter, “but we believe the time has come for something different.”
Partner Alex Shaw added “When you think about how often our cars end up on their lids, sliding down the track or tumbling through the infield, it just makes sense.”

While it’s true that the economy is in the tank and sponsorships are getting increasingly difficult to find, one might wonder who would be interested in buying space on the underside of a car. That’s where Marketing Director Casey McGraw comes in.

Many may have been wondering what I have been up too lately. The simple answer is A LOT!!!

Gold Award WinnerFirst, back on January 23, I assisted with the ASA Midwest Tour Banquet at the Chula Vista Resort in Wisconsin Dells, WI. Tim Olson and Steve Einhaus, owners of the ASAMT surprised me by presenting me with the ASA Midwest Tour Gold Award. And it was a surprise, I was very humbled and thank them for it.

The next day I was SUPPOSED to leave for South Africa for the ASA Transcontinental Series Free State 500. So I am in Milwaukee, board my plane, they back the plane up and it sits. It sits for three hours due to bad weather in Atlanta. Eventually, the plane doesn't go and I head down to Atlanta the next morning.

Later this week I am going to do something that I never thought, or even imagined that I would do in my life. I never thought that my first trip out of this country to another continent would be to South Africa. And on top of it, its a trip to South Africa for a race.

On Sunday, January 31st, the American Speed Association, where I work full-time as the Director of Public Relations, is putting on the first ever American style stock car race in South Africa. The event will take place at the Phakisa Freeway Circuit in Welkom, Free State, South Africa. The track is located about two hours south of Johannesburg in the middle of the country at an elavation of 4,000 ft.

As we enter into the New Year, we all must remember to keep some things in mind in order to have a successful season. Here are a few thoughts that I have going into 2010.

This is not the time to re-invent the wheel when it comes down to your rules package. The economy is slowly recovering, some will see on the news that its recovering in some aspects but for many of us, it will be a long time before we see it in racing. One tech director told me that he recently got an approval to have his rules set for their track for the next three years. Meaning, that the rules are going to stay the same for the next three years with the only modifications being clarifications or safety changes. I think weekly tracks and series should consider this as well. One promoter told me that his only change to his rules was changing the year from 2009 to 2010.

There are times when some wonder if a race track is behind the times when it comes to marketing and promotions. To be honest, many are right on track or even ahead of the curve.

At the recent Racing Promotors Monthly Workshops in Reno, NV I sat in a workshop that discussed social media which includes using websites like Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, etc. Seth Sands of Skagit Speedway, an ASA Member Track, in Burlington, WA moderated the workshop where he provided a lot of information and suggestions for the promoters.

Sands called social media a “word of mouth on steroids” because most of these sites do not charge for you to get your message out to a mass of people.