Complaints about sponsor revenue not being a viable tap of funding for teams deafened fans’ ears throughout the season. It was why the teams demanded a better share of the TV revenue from NASCAR before signing the charter agreement. While the demand was suppressed and the team owners were left licking their wounds, Brad Keselowski has long begun finding solutions.
Advertisement
RFK Racing revealed the Castrol-sponsorship schemes that Keselowski’s No. 6 and Ryan Preece’s No. 60 Ford Mustangs will carry in 2025 on Thursday. It was the latest on a long list of attractive schemes that the team has started being known for in recent years. However, one question from a follower on X popped up separately and forced co-owner Keselowski to answer.
It wondered why sponsorships from a particular brand were being split between the team’s cars instead of going to a single entry like it used to in the 1990s and 2000s. The follower believed such a practice would give the cars and drivers a more visible identity. Responding to the doubt, Keselowski mentioned that it was a question that they get asked a lot at RFK Racing.
He wrote, “Mainly 2 reasons – 1). Our partners get more value due to increased access to our team with all 3 drivers and cars. 2). Our employees have increased assurance that if a sponsor leaves, we are significantly less vulnerable to not being able to fund a team.”
That is a neat way to tackle the sponsorship woes and secure the team from an uncertain future.
Fans react to Keselowski’s explanation
As reasonable as the schemes being spread are, they do cause a slight difficulty when it comes to identifying the cars on the track. One fan who had a solution for this wrote, “That makes sense, but one thing I’d like to see as a fan is a sponsor schedule released also.”
Adding, “Almost like how NFL teams release their jersey schedules in August, I think knowing what races the sponsor is on the car in advance helps with that recognition on the track.”
Another added on the same lines, “1/2 From a business perspective, I see and agree with what you are saying, 100% as a fan though, I do agree with @AR_Analytics in terms of both identification and association (for instance, I associate Menards with Blaney regardless of how many times Cindric drives their car)”
1/2 From a business perspective, I see and agree with what you are saying, 100% as a fan though, I do agree with @AR_Analytics in terms of both identification and association (for instance, I associate Menards with Blaney regardless of how many times Cindric drives their car)
— Ross Crashtain (@RossCrashtain) December 6, 2024
Yet another fan made the same contention by comparing the multiple schemes of 23XI Racing’s No. 45 entry and the single scheme of No. 43 STP car driven by Richard Petty.
The way the atmosphere is in the sport right now with sponsor-security being the most fragile brick, it is understandable why RFK Racing or any other team would put a business strategy a tad bit ahead of fan ease.
