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Forbes June 5, 2006 Racing for Sponsors BYLINE: Jack GageSpending $20 million a year to slap your name on a 200-mile-per-hour billboard can pay off handsomely--unless your billboard's not even in the race. That happened this March at the Daytona 500, when Valvoline Evernham Racing's number 10 Dodge sputtered to a halt after a gear malfunctioned during the qualifying run. Then a pit crew member botched jacking up the car, eating up even more time. Number 10, sporting big Valvoline and Stanley Tools logos, didn't make the cut, and driver Scott Riggs watched the race from the stands. "We had faith that our car and driver could qualify on merit alone, but these things happen," says Ray D. Evernham, one of the team's owners. So 37 million NBC viewers missed seeing Evernham's logos. NASCAR has lapped every sport for regular season ratings, except the National Football League. According to marketing analyst Joyce Julius & Associates, a top 25 finisher in the Daytona 500 got airtime equivalent to $7 million worth of 30-second commercials on average, given how often the car's logos had "in-focus exposure time" in front of viewers. Not a great time to have a breakdown. The apparent return on investment can be considerable with the best drivers and cars. Last year Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Chevrolet won only one race during the 36-race season, barely missing the checkered flag several times. But Joyce Julius estimates Earnhardt reaped $149 million in televised exposure time for lead sponsor Budweiser. By that calculation, Anheuser-Busch got a bargain. It is believed to have spent only $15 million on the sponsorship. Fast-growing NASCAR racing has already eclipsed pro football in sponsorship dollars. High-profile team owners include Forbes 400 member Roger Penske, former Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach, and current Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs... |
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