Question re. getting sponsorhip (plus any rules against it in PCA/SCCA?)

Apollo · #1 (**permalink**) 05-18-2008, 03:31 PM

I do only AX and probably will continue doing that for the next season, until I feel I am ready to do DEs. At Miata, SCCA, and other events I go to my car draws a lot of attention, since I am usually the only Cayman there. I am always more than happy to answer their questions.

Second part to this is that I have just become a partner in a very innovative company that serves the start-up all the way to mid-market companies. I have met so many entrepreneurs/business founders at these events, if someone remembers my company and somewhere down the road decides to hire us, this would be enough of justification for me to do this. I am thinking about getting two removable vinyl company logos with our website made for me and would put them on during events on the hood and on the trunk lid.

I have one vendor, who could do this for me, but if you have any other you would suggest, please let me know.

I assume I would not be breaking any PCA or SCCA rules?

Lastly, please forgive my newbishness to the competitions, but how the heck do I see that many cars with Tirerack logos on them. Is Tirerack doing some kind of sponsorhips for AX newbs too?

djb_rh · #2 (**permalink**) 05-18-2008, 06:20 PM

You wouldn't be breaking any rules, no. Quite the opposite, in fact...I know at least the SCCA loves to have sponsored cars at their events.

Tire Rack sponsors a lot of events...everything from the One Lap of America to all National SCCA autocrosses (Nationals, Tours, and ProSolo). They require you to run their windshield banner at all such events.

--Donnie

Apollo · #3 (**permalink**) 05-18-2008, 06:31 PM

I would not mind getting my registration fees covered by Tirerack :-)

**Amazin** · #4 (**permalink**) 05-19-2008, 01:50 AM

TireRack will not be paying anything to participants. Their sponsorship goes to SCCA to help put on these national events. I have not done a national since 2002, however at that time I think we may have paid to get the required decal. Or it may have been part of the entry fee.

ln any case, those with the windshield headers just carry the ad for TR (with no compensation) until they get around to taking it off after the event.

**phredden** · #5 (**permalink**) 05-27-2008, 03:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djb_rh

You wouldn't be breaking any rules, no. Quite the opposite, in fact...I know at least the SCCA loves to have sponsored cars at their events.

Tire Rack sponsors a lot of events...everything from the One Lap of America to all National SCCA autocrosses (Nationals, Tours, and ProSolo). They require you to run their windshield banner at all such events.

--Donnie

TireRack does a lot of that. They sponsor the BMWCCA Club Race series as well, and we all have to run their window banners. But we also have half a dozen other series sponsors that require us to place their stickers on all our cars...some stickers have very specific placement requirements (as in directly over the front wheel wells in the case of Yokohama tires in the SE36 class), all others need to be between the two wheel wells on the side of the car. These are carefully checked before each race...no sticker, no race. We don't get a dime, National offsets their costs with that money. We're free to add our own sponsorships anywhere else, thou.

The PCA series, from what I've seen second hand, is almost completely void of these. I was shocked to see a Porsche at the track last year that was identified as someone's club racing car...it was absolutely pristine, no stickers, just a very plain set of numbers. Even our numbers have to be on official number boards, which, you guessed it, have more ads on them!

I would encourage putting your new company's name on the car. I have landed several very nice accounts as a direct result of doing this on my own car, trailer, and tow vehicle. You might also ask your accountant about deducting a certain amount for advertising and promotion.

The down side, esp. for a street car, is a negative image such as an accident, or even something as minor as a perceived rude encounter. This begs for you to make the signage removeable (as you've suggested) until you're in a trailer full time.

Apollo · #6 (**permalink**) 08-17-2008, 03:24 AM

After months of different vendors letting me down, Solotime (where I ordered my racing numbers) came through for a price I thought was a mistake.
So now I finally have graphics on my car. I applied them today to see how they look, heck I even drove through Boston and Cambridge to see how they hold up when sun is blasting the car. Not bad, not bad at all. Now I just got to get my driving skills to the trophy level :-)

Comments are welcome re. placement. I skipped the doors, since I am not sure I could fit my racing numbers there too.

**K-Man S** · #7 (**permalink**) 08-17-2008, 04:15 AM

Hey I'll let you put a CaymanClub decal on if you promise to quadruple my bottom line!

Apollo · #8 (**permalink**) 08-17-2008, 04:24 AM

Besides Phreden, there almost never any Caymans at those events

Those who do come are regular members here

Pisses me off royally. In Chicago it was all Boxters and Caymans with 2-3 911s. Here, some GT3s, some 911s, one or two Boxters (if ever). Sucks! I always want to get Boxter/Cayman instructor in my car, besides Phreden, haven't had a chance to get anyone else in.

Quadruple bottom line is actually our guideline for deciding what companies we will and will not work with and helps us keep our values. Phillip Morris... I don't think so, no matter $.