by Nate Ryan, NASCAR
How does a NASCAR driver stay in the good graces of the primary sponsor that pays the majority of the annual bills?
It seems a rudimentary question to ask about a sport whose lifeblood has been tied to the largesse of Corporate America for roughly six decades. And it could seem sillier when posed to NASCAR’s reigning seven-time Most Popular Driver, who happens to be employed by the most successful team in the Cup Series.
But this is a good time to ponder Chase Elliott’s longtime relationship with NAPA, which now stretches over 11 years.
Texas Motor Speedway, where NASCAR stops this weekend, was the site of Elliot’s breakthrough victory on April 4, 2014. The win came barely three months after NAPA (which had left Michael Waltrip Racing and considered exiting NASCAR entirely) signed at the last minute to back Elliott’s rookie season in the Xfinity Series.
The second-generation star won a championship in his first year for NAPA and added a Cup title in 2020.
Seems a simple way to secure a lifetime contract with a Fortune 500 company.
Except nothing is so easy in this current sponsor era of NASCAR that was dramatically transformed by the Great Recession and the advent of social media. Those events happened almost concurrently in the 2008-10 timeframe when sports marketing budgets were slashed just as new ways to reach consumers emerged.
Though the dollars returned, the concept of full-season sponsors have become nearly extinct, and drivers need to hustle for the big bucks.
Even a driver as beloved by fans as Elliott.
He was sincere in explaining the exertion of effort necessary to ensure NAPA sticks around. The work happens by shaking hands in Wall Street boardrooms and also by signing autographs in Main Street storefronts.
“It’s making sure that I’m doing my part for them, and that covers a lot of areas,” Elliott told reporters this week. “That’s on-track performance. That’s relationships away from the race track. Not just headquarters, but the mom and pop shops that carry the NAPA banner on a weekly basis. And I visit with a lot of them.
“It’s about just making sure they know I appreciate them.”
Perhaps that matters even more now to Elliott, who is mired in a 37-race winless streak since a Texas victory last year. Winning always strengthens the bond with a sponsor.
But a congenial and can-do attitude can go a long way, too.
Photo: NASCAR
