• From: Neenah, WI
  • Registered: 2016-09-02
  • Posts: 33

Topic: Sponsorship

So.... sponsorship?

I understand the money or what-have-you would still go towards the $500 limit, but if I used it on the safety equipment, entry fee's, gas, travel expenses, etc. it would really help cut costs on doing this for the people on my team. Most of us are closer to broke than anything else. Being in our 20's, and more of us on the early end of that spectrum, doesn't exactly make for piles of money. Especially when going to school or whatever. I do understand that getting more people cuts costs by splitting everything more ways but if I could manage to get a couple sponsors to chip in it might allow us to breathe a little easier.

I was wondering if anybody actually had experience with getting sponsors for their cars and could give advice on how to do it/how to do it right? What did you do with the money, how did you convince someone to invest something in your junk heap, and what types of companies would be best to go after, etc?

It sounds like even if we split the cost of everything evenly 6 ways it will still be rather expensive. I'm just trying to lower that cost to keep my team having a good time.

  • From: Mankato, MN
  • Registered: 2015-03-20
  • Posts: 354

Re: Sponsorship

I know my buddy on his dirt car, went to places someone he knew owned or friends of friends owned and asked them to either give money or buy something for the car, usually tires or entry fees or just food for him and the crew. Just tell them what your doing and where the exposure could possibly be, about all you can do.

  • From: Aumsville, Oregon (Near Salem)
  • Registered: 2010-08-22
  • Posts: 1,913

Re: Sponsorship

Park your Lemons heap in front of a local business and tell them that if they give you money, you won't put their name on the car.  smile

"I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!"
IOE winner in the Super Snipe -- Buttonwillow 2012
IOE winner in Super Snipe v2.0 -- Buttonwillow 2016
"Every Super Snipe in Lemons has won an IOE!"
  • From: Iowa
  • Registered: 2010-04-20
  • Posts: 2,660

Re: Sponsorship

This raises a question...

Could we have a 24HoL sponsored racing scholarship?

LemonAid - Changing kids lives one lap at a time.

5 Reply by mully006 (edited by mully006 2016-09-18 07:26 PM)

  • From: Boston, MA
  • Registered: 2015-08-12
  • Posts: 265

Re: Sponsorship

Here are some interesting articles on the subject. 

http://www.motoiq.com/MagazineArticles/ … rship.aspx

http://www.motoiq.com/MagazineArticles/ … ships.aspx

That being said, and I'm no expert, but I fell like asking local businesses to sponsor your car is not the right way to go.  When I was in high school I did that a lot to get funding for my robotics team, but that is a very different situation then sponsoring your racecar.  The way I think about it is this, I wouldn't ask my local business to sponsor my woodworking hobby so I can't ask them to sponsor my car racing hobby. 

As a 20 something myself, I know that the budget can be tight, but I think it would be best to hold off on sponsorship until you are established and can show a sponsor what you are going to give them in return.

EDIT

I just had a thought.  If you are dead set on sponsors, a good way to bring in sponsors would be to work with the community and provide a service.  Maybe you could work with the local high school and provide free car control classes for students or teach a free introductory car maintenance and servicing clinic.  If you are giving back to the community then local business would be much more likely to support your effort.

Moot Point Racing - 1991 Volvo 240 - #496
  • From: Boston, MA
  • Registered: 2015-08-12
  • Posts: 265

Re: Sponsorship

addict#52 wrote:

I know my buddy on his dirt car, went to places someone he knew owned or friends of friends owned and asked them to either give money or buy something for the car, usually tires or entry fees or just food for him and the crew. Just tell them what your doing and where the exposure could possibly be, about all you can do.

I feel like if you do this then you put the business owner in an awkward situation.  If they are not interested in sponsoring you they can feel pressured to anyway because they know you or your family and don't want to upset you or say not.  It's like how you don't say not to the neighborhood kid raising money for their soccer team or something.

Moot Point Racing - 1991 Volvo 240 - #496
  • From: Boston, MA
  • Registered: 2015-08-12
  • Posts: 265

Re: Sponsorship

TeamLemon-aid wrote:

This raises a question...

Could we have a 24HoL sponsored racing scholarship?

I think this would be a cool idea,  I am not sure how you would filter or select applicants.  Maybe work with Make a Wish, but I think they would contact Lemons if someone was interested.

Moot Point Racing - 1991 Volvo 240 - #496
  • From: Iowa
  • Registered: 2010-04-20
  • Posts: 2,660

Re: Sponsorship

The possibilities are endless.  If every team (not driver.. team) donated $5 every race they attended it would total up to create quite a fund to either give someone an unbelievable experience or help teams get started.  A link with Make A Wish would make it e en cooler.

mully006 wrote:
TeamLemon-aid wrote:

This raises a question...

Could we have a 24HoL sponsored racing scholarship?

I think this would be a cool idea,  I am not sure how you would filter or select applicants.  Maybe work with Make a Wish, but I think they would contact Lemons if someone was interested.

LemonAid - Changing kids lives one lap at a time.
  • From: Boston, MA
  • Registered: 2015-08-12
  • Posts: 265

Re: Sponsorship

TeamLemon-aid wrote:

The possibilities are endless.  If every team (not driver.. team) donated $5 every race they attended it would total up to create quite a fund to either give someone an unbelievable experience or help teams get started.  A link with Make A Wish would make it e en cooler.

I think the best way to go would be the unbelievable experience route.  I think that there are so many new team that i would be very hard to choose one fairly, and be sure that the funding would be put to good use, and not squandered.  Maybe it would work where team could apply to run in someone's existing car.  Maybe one race in each region could have a newbie car where, people apply to race that car.

Moot Point Racing - 1991 Volvo 240 - #496
  • From: Mankato, MN
  • Registered: 2015-03-20
  • Posts: 354

Re: Sponsorship

mully006 wrote:
addict#52 wrote:

I know my buddy on his dirt car, went to places someone he knew owned or friends of friends owned and asked them to either give money or buy something for the car, usually tires or entry fees or just food for him and the crew. Just tell them what your doing and where the exposure could possibly be, about all you can do.

I feel like if you do this then you put the business owner in an awkward situation.  If they are not interested in sponsoring you they can feel pressured to anyway because they know you or your family and don't want to upset you or say not.  It's like how you don't say not to the neighborhood kid raising money for their soccer team or something.

Funny you say that, he quit doing it after a couple years because of that reason. He had his buddy at the junk yard get him cars for cheap still so threw them on the hood just outta respect.

  • From: Neenah, WI
  • Registered: 2016-09-02
  • Posts: 33

Re: Sponsorship

mully006 wrote:

Here are some interesting articles on the subject. 

http://www.motoiq.com/MagazineArticles/ … rship.aspx

http://www.motoiq.com/MagazineArticles/ … ships.aspx

That being said, and I'm no expert, but I fell like asking local businesses to sponsor your car is not the right way to go.  When I was in high school I did that a lot to get funding for my robotics team, but that is a very different situation then sponsoring your racecar.  The way I think about it is this, I wouldn't ask my local business to sponsor my woodworking hobby so I can't ask them to sponsor my car racing hobby. 

As a 20 something myself, I know that the budget can be tight, but I think it would be best to hold off on sponsorship until you are established and can show a sponsor what you are going to give them in return.

EDIT

I just had a thought.  If you are dead set on sponsors, a good way to bring in sponsors would be to work with the community and provide a service.  Maybe you could work with the local high school and provide free car control classes for students or teach a free introductory car maintenance and servicing clinic.  If you are giving back to the community then local business would be much more likely to support your effort.

The thing about a sponsorship is that it's supposed to work out for both parties, They give you whatever, you get them exposure, which brings them business. Problem with that is that the race isn't local. The race is a state away, and they don't get exposure with the people in the area to get them business like a local dirt track driver would.  The one way I figured I could give exposure was If I could get an article in the local newspaper on the team. I don't know if our sad group being idiots who certainly won't win would be good enough for an article, but if I got several sponsors to sign on it could be a "Local Businesses Rally Around Lemons Team" type of story.

None of us really have any skills to help the community in any way either. Maybe if I offered to let the high school art/automotive departments come up with the design and body work that might work, but I doubt it. None of us are actually very good mechanics. I can do something given the time and instructions, another in the crew is a tow truck driver, but that doesn't make him a mechanic.. In any case nobody would want to do it, we're all a bunch of introverts. I don't know. I'm just trying to lower the cost for everyone involved. I mean, Driver's entry fees, car entry fees, driver's licenses for Lemons, the suit rentals or purchases, the transponder rental, etc. All of this adds up to a lot and that's not even including the stuff we have to do to the car, like the roll cage. For a bunch of kids who don't know what their money will look like in seven months, it's a little off-putting.

12 Reply by Hodgepodge75 (edited by Hodgepodge75 2016-09-18 09:51 PM)

  • From: Neenah, WI
  • Registered: 2016-09-02
  • Posts: 33

Re: Sponsorship

mully006 wrote:
TeamLemon-aid wrote:

This raises a question...

Could we have a 24HoL sponsored racing scholarship?

I think this would be a cool idea,  I am not sure how you would filter or select applicants.  Maybe work with Make a Wish, but I think they would contact Lemons if someone was interested.

I mean, how do they usually select scholarship winners? The person who writes the best essay or something, along with that person's credentials. If I wrote a super compelling story about why I wanted to race at Lemons and what a cool group of guys I've got they might give it to me. It would also give the judge's another way to weed out the people who don't understand the spirit of Lemons and show up with the wrong attitudes. I think it's a great plan. If it were a thing I would've sent my application for it in an instant.