Major ENDORSEMENT FOR RONPAUL

[ToryNotion]

The driver is a supporter, the owner is in it for profit... While the driver has some say, I would venture to guess that this would normally cost upwards of $500,000 per race for a Nextel Cup car and $350,000 per race for a Busch Series car... We're lucky as hell to get it for $100,000 for the first 4 races, and $300,000 for the whole season.

It seems everyone here is looking a gift horse in the mouth.

Your estimate of 1/2 mill per race is in the high range for a full sponsorship for a Sprint Cup car. I think Dupont is probably paying around 20 million per year for the #24 car. Not sure about the Nationwide (former Busch) Series numbers. re: not being able to read the car's decal during the race as mentioned in some other posts, a lot of race coverage is of caution laps and pit stops where the decals are quite easy to read (even at the track).

 

[JMann]

I have to somewhat agree, I doubt this money will be well spent cause how often are you going to be able to see this little logo on a car when all that money could be spent on TV adverts during these events that get our message out.

One problem with the blimp is that it is old technology. You spend a bunch of money but can use it because of weather or that it takes 3 days to get it to a place. Not to say blimps don't serve a purpose but in the era of political quick response a blimp is a slow mover and not very dependable. It spent a good part of the first four days flying over North and South Carolina farmland. Wasn't the blimp in Florida during the New Hampshire primary? Avoidable problems but not a great use of limited funds.

My comments here are in hindsight and It was a idea that enough people wanted to try to fund it so who am I to say it wasn't worth trying.

 

[GeorgiaforPaul08]

Maybe my bias is showing not being a nascar fan; but, you've got to be kidding me! Spend $300,000 to put a little sign on a car? (And they thought $400k spent on the blimp was a bad idea....). Sheesh, for that kind of money, you could put a healthy down payment on an NHL franchise.....dress them in red,white, and blue and change their names to the RonPauls....right in mid-season.

Exactly, who ever pays for this is fucking nuts and getting ripped off. think of what all else could be done with 300,000 dollars! Hell the blimp did that and atleast it got media attention. What the hell is this gonna do. Nothing when you think about the 40 other cars in the race all covered with adverts. IT IS NOT WORTH IT. Surely the grassroots who did such amazing things like the blimp, money bombs, funding the granny warriors, and the live free or die project can think of something wiser to use this money on.

 

[thegr8drronpaul]

The driver is a supporter, the owner is in it for profit... While the driver has some say, I would venture to guess that this would normally cost upwards of $500,000 per race for a Nextel Cup car and $350,000 per race for a Busch Series car... We're lucky as hell to get it for $100,000 for the first 4 races, and $300,000 for the whole season.

It seems everyone here is looking a gift horse in the mouth.

If the driver is really a supporter then how bout he just wears some RP stuff for free (even a button for interviews) or how about he announces it in an interview at the race?

 

[pcosmar]

I have to somewhat agree, I doubt this money will be well spent cause how often are you going to be able to see this little logo on a car when all that money could be spent on TV adverts during these events that get our message out.

These are High speed, high dollar advertising. These are TV ads, with great coverage.
The price is not bad when the major advertisers are in for millions.

 

[yongrel]

They put wheels on the blimp? Wild.

 

[Shink]

Yes it is the latest news, you heard it here first. now go see for yourself...... www.ronpaulracing.com/blog/?p=35

I fixed Wallace's wikipedia page.

 

[slacker921]

"If the driver is really a supporter then how bout he just wears some RP stuff for free (even a button for interviews) " .. .
NASCAR drivers don't do anything like this for free. It's big, big money. They have a guy in the winners circle who does nothing but put different hats on people so their logo can be seen for a few minutes.

Don't focus on how big the sticker is.. the important thing is that the driver is very well known and a TV celebrity and will be saying the name "Ron Paul" a lot on national TV. That's what they are trained to do. And the car is seen a LOT by a lot of people when it's sitting still and everything on it can be read.
.... and .. I was sitting eating lunch yesterday in the Firehouse subs near Lowe's motor speedway.. the TV was tuned to CNN and they mentioned Ron Paul. Some of the mechanics from one of the race teams were sitting at the table next to me and started talking about this project in a positive way. This project is generating buzz already.

That said.. I'd much rather see the $$$ spent on TV ads in NC so we can get out and canvass without people rejecting and ridiculing us. The general public thinks Ron Paul has dropped out or has zero chance and I don't think sponsoring a car is going to change that perception.

 

[freedomintheusa]

Exactly, who ever pays for this is fucking nuts and getting ripped off. think of what all else could be done with 300,000 dollars! Hell the blimp did that and atleast it got media attention. What the hell is this gonna do. Nothing when you think about the 40 other cars in the race all covered with adverts. IT IS NOT WORTH IT. Surely the grassroots who did such amazing things like the blimp, money bombs, funding the granny warriors, and the live free or die project can think of something wiser to use this money on.

Major Associate Sponsorship includes:

Personal appearances by the team’s “Show Car” at special events (in fact, the Show Car will be traveling through Texas on March 4th, the date of the Texas Primary!)
The possibility of a personal appearance by one of the team’s drivers (this is very tentative and depends on his schedule)
Signage on the team’s Transport Vehicle (the 18-wheeler that transports the cars from race to race–it’s a moving billboard that travels over 100,000 miles of freeways per year)
An 18″ x 12″ decal on both sides of the car
Signage on the Pit Equipment
Permission to include a Decal/Button on the Race Team’s uniform

 

[dannno]

The blimp wasn't on TV

 

[theantirobot]

The blimp wasn't on TV

Blimp got tons of local coverage, which did not get captured for youtube. Also, sign waves and literature drops were immensely more effective while underneath the blimp.

 

[trapfive]

once again

People who don't follow racing have no idea what they're talking about on this topic.

It doesn't matter how big the frickin sign on the car is!!! It's not about seeing Ron Paul's name going around the track at 200 mph. It's about getting the platform to spread the message to millions of race fans in the country. In my opinion it's a perfect fit and better than a major sponsorship. 300K for an associate sponsorship for two cars in a 35 race season is a great deal

300k spent on this could make a huge difference come mid summer. That's my opinion...

 

[phoenixzorn]

http://www.ronpaulracing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/kw_message.mp3 <---- listen to Kenny Wallace... He's there on digital media, saying that his Shark car will be flying a Ron Paul sticker on both sides of both cars AND large "Ron Paul for President in 2008" banners on both sides of the haulers... You couldn't get this kind of coverage from ANY other fundraising drive, unless we had bought a 30 second spot during the Super Bowl...

I still can't believe people think this is a bad idea. This is an AMAZING idea, and it will be the best thing we can do to bring about a full scale revolution. It is possible to get Ron Paul in the White House because of this election, and we owe it to everyone to do as much as possible for him. We can get the sponsorship, and we are getting it for a bargain.

 

[LibertyIn08]

The only people saying this is a bad idea are those who don't understand NASCAR.

 

[rightcoast]

Wow, I was looking forward to the Dale Jr/Hendrick Motorsports partnership and going to root hard for him this year, like I do every year, but I will rethink that, and am going to go donate right now to this.

To say this is huge understates things. Nascar people buy what is on the car of their driver. Simple as that. This isn't huge. This is the biggest thing to happen for Ron Paul, period, hands down, if it happens.

Yes, larger than the money bombs.

 

[tommyzDad]

The only people saying this is a bad idea are those who don't understand NASCAR.

I'm sorry, I was initially for this, but after reading that we would be paying for a "sticker" or "stickers" and not a having the entire car done up....

....I just can't open my wallet.

From what I gather, we've already had people on the ground at these events, handing out slim-jims, talking to people and spreading The Message. I had hoped this fund was to have the entire car decked out in "Paul". If this is indeed the plan, tell me, otherwise I'll just donate directly to the campaign.

 

[freedomintheusa]

Stop reading go to the site and listen to KENNEY WALLACE HIMSELF....Not just a sticker on the car....

 

[TruthAtLast]

Please don't pay $300,000.00 for a 12 inch sign on the side of car going 200 miles per hour. This has already been verified as a scam.

This is not a scam so please stop saying it is. Anyone who thinks it is, is clearly not doing their homework and relying on outdated information.

The entire management changed and they are an offical Political Action Committee that abides by all federal campaign financing laws.

Not paying $300k for a sign is a different issue and everyone has the ability to make up their own mind.

But people are focusing too much on JUST the logo on the car. That is a small fraction of what a SPONSORSHIP gives you. I know this FIRST HAND.

You get promoted and endorsed by the driver themselves who have massive fan bases from all over the country. This is what they really get paid to do. They know that without the sponsors they don't race. You get announcers mentioning sponsors on National TV and a political sponsor would also be a good talking point, not to mention the close up camera shots of the cars (yes, even when it is going 200 mph).

NASCAR has the largest attended sporting events in the entire country. Even aside from the TV coverage, there are over 100,000 people who attend virtually every race. People can see the car of their favorite drivers when it ISN'T moving. There are pictures of it on hundreds of websites across the country. You basically get a massive billboard on the semi-truck transporter that has your message on it as it travels across the country and is ALSO seen at the races by the fans and is very often used as the backdrop when local TV reporters do news stories or interviews.

Unlike ANY other sport in America, NASCAR is built around the sponsors. It takes a ton of money to keep these cars and race teams going and the organization and the fans know this. They are passionate about the sponsors of their favorite drivers and the announcers WILL mention it.

People need to stop focusing on just the signage on the car. There is SOOO much more.

I don't even like NASCAR. I think it is a little boring. But my company did this and I know what a massive impact it has (and not just in the local city).

Can $300k be better spent? Maybe. That is a whole different argument. But I don't see very many other projects being launched right now and with the money we have proven that we can raise, $300k is a drop in the bucket. I'd donate to this AND to any other worthy project that came up.

 

[FireofLiberty]

This is a huge opportunity, guys. Do you have any idea how many people watch NASCAR races? MILLIONS. Daytona is the Superbowl is NASCAR. This is NOTHING like the blimp. If we get this on the side of the car it WILL GET TALKED ABOUT. People will see it. Whenever they show the cars going around the track on TV they have cameras that can make them clearly visible, even if they are going 200 MPH. For example:

And I can guarantee you this will get people talking. It'll get the fans talking. It'll get the announcers talking. It'll get the other drivers talking.

I can just hear one of them now.

Announcer #1: "There's Kenny Wallace in the Shark Energy Drink Car."

Announcer #2: "Yeah, and he's got that Ron Paul rEVOLution logo on the side too."

Announcer #1: "For those of you who don't know Ron Paul is a Presidential candidate and he's the first Presidential candidate in history to have his name on the side of a NASCAR."

Please donate to this.

 

[torchbearer]

I wish people got this excited about getting our congressional candidates $300,000 dollars.
We will need it if we are serious about taking back congress.