A Cup Series team in NASCAR cannot function without the aid of sponsors. Racing is a cost-heavy sport and behind every single entry in the premier-tier of stock car racing is multi-million dollars of investment. Teams are always on the lookout for reliable companies to help them run cars. But there are also certain fronts that they stay away from even if they do get the required funds.
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Joe Gibbs Racing’s Dave Alpern explained the same in a recent video on the team’s social media channels. He pointed out how the team has always stayed away from political sponsors and companies that sell alcohol. He refrained from stating the name of any particular entity but did mention that certain “categories” are out of bounds for the team’s principles.
In an earlier video of similar sorts, Alpern had spoken about how sponsors benefit from being associated with NASCAR teams. The brand visibility that they get can be matched by no other form of marketing which is why a lot yearn to be involved with the sport. A good example of this is the advantage that the global logistics giant FedEx enjoys.
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Whether it is Toyota doing a commercial or Denny Hamlin, FedEx gets automatic visibility as it is the primary sponsor on both the #11 car and the driver’s suit, not to mention the various other pieces of team gear. This creates a highly mutually beneficial relationship between sponsors and teams. There are good reasons as to why Joe Gibbs Racing refrains from certain sponsorship categories.
Political ones, for example. The former CMO of Richard Childress Racing, Ben Schlosser, revealed via the Sports Business Journal in 2022 that only one in four fans wanted to hear political opinions when they watch races. Keeping in mind the repercussions of that, NASCAR itself has gone out and banned teams from getting political sponsorships in recent years.
The biggest share of a team’s revenue comes from sponsors. This is a balance that teams are hoping to shift more in their favor. The prolonged delay in signing the new charter agreement with NASCAR stems from this same need. Less dependency on sponsors would give teams more space to focus on racing and less so worrying about their profitability.
