Money, Money, Racing and More Money   April 2, 2008 Lisa Fowler - SCR   As I mentioned in a previous article, I am working with a newly formed NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team that is looking for sponsorship. Because I enjoy writing and have a great deal of knowledge, (at least I think so) I have been writing up proposals for them to send out to various companies seeking sponsorship money.  Doing this reinforces the harsh reality of our current economic situation.   I do not like to think about the hardships that we are all facing in these difficult times. However, being a state employee in Florida, it seems that not a day goes by without the words "budget cut" coming up. Every facet of our lives hinges on what our legislature proposes and the next area to be cut.      I also have to adjust my idea of what it costs to run a race team. When we were involved with the Goody's Dash series, we operated on a shoe-string budget and even then, you had to understand that whatever the purse was for the race, it was never nearly enough to cover the expenses involved in just getting to the track.

For the larger teams in the top series, the cost is nearly unimaginable. You have to transport at least two cars for each team to each track, hundreds or thousands of miles from their shops. You have 10-20 people per team needing hotel rooms, rental cars and food for at least 3 days at the track and maybe two more days of travel. You buy uniforms for the driver and each crew member. All of this is added to the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent to get the cars built and on the track. You have personnel at the shop that have to be paid and the salaries for the upper level staff, crew chiefs, engineers, etc. have gone up tremendously in the last few years.     There was a time that you could run your race car from the garage in your backyard. You may have had your family; friends and neighbors pitch in to support your effort, working into the wee hours of the morning. All they wanted in return was to be able to attend the race to cheer you on. The pride of being part of the experience seemed like compensation enough. Those days are gone forever.     I am proud that our sport has seen the growth in popularity that has allowed our stars to become superstars. I am also proud that many of our stars came up in a time where their fathers, grandfathers, uncles or older brothers raced on a tight budget. I believe that their understanding of how blessed they are is a huge part of why they are the way they are. They have sat in the infield and ate bologna sandwiches, rode across country in dad's station-wagon, slept in tents and sleeping bags.

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I always get the sense that most of our drivers, owners and crew members were cut from the same cloth. They have traveled the hard road, maybe not for their own careers but for those before them. They learned how tough it is to make it in the sport of auto racing. It was never a glamorous life. It has given them an appreciation for what they now have.     Their lifestyles may seem to be a million light years removed from the lifestyle of the past generations of racers. The truth is that they are still planted firmly in the ground that was prepared and fertilized by those that blazed the trail before them. I also believe that this is why they are some of the most giving people in the world. They truly feel that they just don't need or even deserve all of that money. They are the first to step up and support the cause. They still believe that it is better to give than to receive. So I ask you to keep on supporting racing by supporting the companies that sponsor the sport. It is a worthy and noble cause.    Questions, Comments: Email Lisa    The views and opinions in this article are that of the writer(s) and not necessarily that of SCR

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