Traditional Sprint Car FanSite

See You At The Races!!!

 Anticipating The New Season
 by Debbie Shipherd

(Feb.11, 2003) When I began writing pit stories for the Wingless Sprints, my intention was to share with people the pit side of racing, especially all the good things that go on behind the scenes at the track. As an elementary school PE instructor, I was impressed by all of the camaraderie and good sportsmanship that that I witnessed weekly in the pits. It’s unfortunate that young impressionable children in the stands and other fans don’t get the opportunity to see that aspect of racing. This has been and will continue to be the sole purpose of my writing.

     I am a driver’s wife, and a crew member, so often my experiences are inclusive of our car and our crew. I make every possible effort to include as much information about other drivers and crews as I can, especially when other teams are willing to share the information. I have no professional journalistic or photographic training, and am merely attempting to do my small part in the promotion of our growing division, while giving people a glimpse into the positive aspects of racing.

     Most Wingless Sprint teams are now anxiously awaiting opening day races at our N.CA tracks, while still preparing their cars. Hopefully everyone is triple checking their safety equipment as well.

    While our Wingless Sprint class is a very affordable sprint division, it still takes money to maintain the cars at a competitive level, and to cover fuel and tire expenses. For most of us “weekend warriors” that have families, homes, and other priorities, in order to race, we need sponsorship. While having a company name or logo on a race car is an exciting and unique method of advertising, let’s all focus on ways to make it even more effective and appealing to business owners.

    One thing I always notice is trophy dash pictures, which frequently we enlarge and give to our sponsors. In the picture, there’s the driver holding the trophy, joined by his crew, family, and a track official, and the end result is a photo where even the car is barely visible. Unless the driver or crew is wearing sponsor hats or jackets, the sponsor is loosing out on a good advertising opportunity, especially if the photo makes the newspapers. This is not meant as any criticism to track photographers, just one small thing we can all be aware of to insure our sponsor’s visibility. Trailers, motor homes, and even your personal truck can be utilized as moving billboards as well, a great option to offer especially if you do any kind of traveling.

     Track announcers are always provided with sponsor information along with driver profiles, but rarely are writers or photographers. It would sure be advantageous to all if every time your car and driver was written about, sponsor names would be linked, too. I plan to incorporate that aspect into my pit stories as much as possible, so if anyone has sponsor info they want to share for internet exposure, send it to me thru Don O’Keefe’s site.

     Track promoters could help the cause by offering special group discount tickets to the races for companies that sponsor drivers and the tracks so that those companies’ employees can get to the track to watch their cars. There are many things we can all focus on to promote our division and to expand our corporate partnerships.

    The #20 team is still putting finishing touches on the car and is looking forward to another fun season traveling to several tracks. Hope to see you all soon! Have fun, be safe, and take care,

                          Deb

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