NASCAR fan idea turns to reality in helping drivers and teams get sponsors

This week we are going to take a look at @theNASCARfans on twitter. For those of you who don’t know about him, he started the account not too long ago with a passion for NASCAR and an idea on how to make the sport better.

Since creating the account on twitter it has grown to 2,200+ followers some of whom are NASCAR teams and drivers looking for sponsors and companies with interest into seeing what the NASCAR fans want to see. We all can agree that the economy is hurting and is one of the reasons we are seeing so many un-sponsored cars as companies downsize and go out of business the remaining few only have but so many dollars to spread around.

That’s where @theNASCARfans comes in, by creating the account it gives the fans a voice and a way to reach the marketing departments at companies and show them how brand loyal they are not only to their driver but to their product if they should sponsor their favorite driver or any driver that deserves the chance to shine without having to worry of starting and parking on the weekend.

@TheNascarFans took some time out and answered a few questions for not only use but for those in the companies that the fans want to see sponsor a car or truck in NASCAR..

First off tell us a little about yourself and how you got interested in NASCAR? I grew up watching NASCAR and I absolutely love the sport. As a kid growing up Dale Earnhardt Sr. was basically my hero. Birthday cakes didn’t have spiderman or batman on them; they had Dale Earnhardt Sr. on them. After he passed away I found myself becoming a fan of the sport itself other than any driver in particular.

You started @thenascarfans on twitter and have gathered a following of fans and others who want to see drivers sponsored, was that your original intention or did this just happen when you saw a need for someone outside the teams to help out? This is something that has been an idea of mine for a while now. Putting it to action was a lot easier then I figured it would be. Of course there is a lot more things that need to be done in order to take this to the level it needs to be. But it’s a social media idea that needed to start with the social media side of marketing. Therefore I started a twitter account and named it appropriately The NASCAR Fans.

The idea is to get every diehard NASCAR fan grouped together and go do some marketing for our sport. NASCAR strives off of sponsorships. Without sponsors we lose teams. Without teams we lose, good on track racing. Start & Park is an issue that comes to mind. These guys are racers; they want to come to the track and race. Not drive around for 20 – 30 laps and pull off the track. They also have fans and I’m sure their fans don’t want to see that happen either. We want to see action packed racing with all 43 cars. Together we can make that happen. There are millions of NASCAR fans around the world. I am simply looking for the Diehards.

Do you have a set list of drivers that you personally want to see sponsored or are you working off fan requests wanting to see their drivers sponsored in a good ride? Personally I would love to see every team and driver have a sponsor on their hood for every race. There is a lot of talent out there and it gets lost in the mix because of funding. But this is about giving the fans what they want. The fans want interaction. They need to have more say in things. The fans are a big reason why most of these companies become sponsors in the first place. So if we got loud enough, I’m sure a company will listen.

The idea is to put the sport in the fans hands as much as possible. If the fans want to help Trevor Bayne or Kenny Wallace find a sponsor then that is what we`ll try to do. However, this is not about any driver or team in particular. This is about showing the large amount of companies how brand loyal NASCAR fans can be. Imagine 100 thousand fans telling your business that we want you in our sport and we will support your company if you do. Do you think their marketing team will take notice of that? Of Course they will. This is a great marketing opportunity for a Company. Imagine being the first company to ask the @TheNascarFans what they want and then delivering it. As long as fans can buy their product, it will most likely boost their sales, create a stronger brand loyalty and draw some media attention.

So far how successful have you been in getting companies to talk to either you or with the teams? As for making connections, yes there have been some connections made with @TheNascarFans. Some teams & drivers have reached out. A good amount of these companies have responded and passed along their contact information. At this point all I can do is give the information to the NASCAR teams who are asking for it and need it.

Wood Brothers have recently followed us on twitter and I`m now passing along information to them. Some companies such as Tide, Carls Jr, Hardees, Serta Mattresses, Cinnabon and many more have followed us as well. It’s the marketing the teams do that ultimately make the deal happen. As long as we see a new sponsor join our sport because of all of us fans, its fine with us. We accomplished something together as fans. And I think if we look at it that way, we as fans can really help push our sport to the top.

If you personally as a fan had the chance to talk directly to the marketing people at some of the companies you’re going after what would be your compelling reason for their company to sponsor a driver in NASCAR? I think as this account gains more diehard NASCAR fans, the fans will let the companies know just how compelling NASCAR can be for their business.

Final thoughts for us and the companies you’re seeking to get involved? This twitter account belongs to every NASCAR fan who is taking part. It’s your account, not mine. I simply keep it level and make sure that it does what the fans want. That it tries to help the teams in need and targets the right companies. I only talk about the sponsor topics and try to help new fans joining twitter connect with other fans. If you’re a diehard NASCAR fan and you want to help bring new sponsors to our sport, then follow @TheNascarFans on twitter. We need to group together and make this happen. We`ll stay focused and get responses. We`ll get more effective with numbers.