Obama not doing NASCAR sponsorship

JOLIET, Ill. — NASCAR's BAM Racing team has presented Barack Obama's presidential campaign with a potential sponsorship deal in the Sprint Cup series later this year, but it doesn't look like an Obama car will be burning rubber on the track anytime soon.

BAM team spokesman Rhett Vandiver told The Associated Press on Friday that the team made a sponsorship proposal to the Democratic presidential hopeful's campaign, and has made similar proposals to the campaign of Republican John McCain and at least one third-party candidate.

Late Friday, the Obama campaign said there would be no sponsorship.

"The Obama campaign will not be sponsoring a car in the Sprint Cup series, though we will continue to look for ways to reach out to voters and convey Senator Obama's message of change." said Bill Burton, an Obama campaign spokesman

Sports Illustrated first reported the proposal on its Web site, saying Obama's campaign is in talks with BAM, a part-time operation that hasn't raced in recent weeks, to sponsor its No. 49 car in the Aug. 3 race at Pocono.

"The Obama campaign will not be sponsoring a car in the Sprint Cup series, though we will continue to look for ways to reach out to voters and convey Senator Obama's message of change." Bill Burton, Obama Campaign Spokesman

It would have been a fairly bold move within a sport whose competitors spend all year turning left on the track but tend to lean to the right politically.

BAM's choice of drivers and car brands might have been a little too sticky politically for the Obama camp.

The car, a Toyota _ the only foreign automaker racing in NASCAR _ would be driven by veteran Ken Schrader.

According to the Federal Election Commission's Web site, Schrader gave $1,000 to the campaign of North Carolina Republican congressman Robin Hayes in June 2004, and a total of $2,500 in 2003 and 2004 to the failed Virginia congressional campaign of Republican Kevin Triplett, a former NASCAR official.

Also according to the FEC, Mrs. Ann Schrader of Concord, N.C. and Ken Schrader Racing donated a total of $2,000 to President Bush's campaign in May 2004 and $900 to the North Carolina Republican Executive Committee in August 2004.

NASCAR has been playing an increasing role in politics, as so-called "NASCAR dads" were considered a key constituency in recent elections.

A Cup series car carried a George W. Bush logo in 2004 but wasn't officially associated with the campaign. And Democratic presidential hopeful Bob Graham sponsored a truck in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2003.

Comments

[luvangelHussein330]

GO SPEED RACER!!

[bola47]

Comcast is advertising on television here in Florida for politicians to advertise on their cable network. What is this country coming to?

[sandtats]

Yes!!! Put him in, coach! :) Maybe at the opening day of the new Yankee Stadium! (ducking the tomatoes, hehe)

[BobsNotWorking]

What planet are you on? While Obama is filling stadiums with cheering fans McCain can't even fill a room.

[AbbieXHoffman]

I love BO and I get he wants to go after NASCAR fans (not his usual supporters), but what's next?

A tear-off award card to win a day with BO slapped on McDonald's soda cups?
Times square monster size ad?
The Itunes BO celebrity play list?

The marketing campaign is kinda getting funny.

[TommyMcCarthy]

"Abbie" you KNOW the answer is "all the above". All getting to be a bit much, isn't it?
Love your screen name.

tm

[ohmercy]

LMAO.
Good ones.
Thanks I needed that.

[Meggie]

he does have to reach people who know who brittney spears is but do not know who nancy pelosi is. he has a point with this, and it is a tweak at repub central, but at the end of the day I'm not convinced that he'll pick up the NASCAR vote.

[NASCARLiberal]

Ahhh, Meggie (or Howie), I see you really don't understand NASCAR nor politics!

[RaraAvis17]

Wasn't Mc Cain's name on the side of a chariot during the chariot races in Ancient Greece?

[luvangelHussein330]

hahaha!!!

[Peteyman]

No way, I though Ben-Hur was sponsered by McCain

[SDnavyPROUD]

God help us all if the driver crashes it. Five things Rupert Murdoch & Roger Ailes are planning during coverage of this race:

1.)First the driver swerves right and left to get out in front;
2.)Then the driver will carry on negotiations with the circuit's most evil drivers;
3.)During the last lap, as the Obama car appears ready to win...ooops he runs out of gas, then whole crew will push him across the line. Though illegal, the important thing here is the image.
4.)Encourage the Obama team to show NASCAR that a hybrid car using solar and wind along with ethanol has a shot, and the rest of the crew must be publicly financed, otherwise he has "CHANGED" racing like he wants.
5.)If the Obama car wins greet the driver with a motley assortment flower children and gang bangers.

[Knowbetter]

Pound sand!

[NASCARLiberal]

I wouldn't expect the 49 car to be positioned to win. A major factor in advertising on NASCAR vehicles is to make sure your company logo is still readable at the end of the race. It is called finishing with a "clean car" and can mean as much to a sponsor as a "win" in some cases.

Yeah, it would be better if Obama could work out a deal to be on Kyle Busch's car (Kurt Busch did give John Kerry a tour around the track in New Hampshire back in 2004), but just being out there lets those MILLIONS of fans, of all kinds of backgrounds, know that this campaign UNDERSTANDS and CARES.

[bosshogg]

nobody can't say obama doesn't go after every vote......­..........­......

[TommyMcCarthy]

"Leave no stone unturned" comes to mind.............or

look under every rock


tm

[JiminNC]

I think it is a great idea! Don't put it on a Toyaota B.O.!!!

[Nolewoman]

I don't understand the panties in a wad thing. I am far from a NASCAR fan but I think this is a good move. It is simply campaigning and I realize that he has to appeal to more than just people like me. There are not enough mees to elect him. There has to be both mees and yous to get the job done. So, lets support him all the way and get him elected and save our great country. God knows it needs saving.

[igiveup]

The event will be called “Meet Your First Black Guy.”

Conan O'Brien

[NASCARLiberal]

Uhhhhhh, obviously you don't know that Bill Lester, a current NASCAR driver and with a college degree in Computer Engineering, is black, as are many crew members, fans, and sponsors. Last time I looked football player Randy Moss ... new owner of Randy Moss Motorsports ... is black.

Take a look at NASCAR folks and wise up on your comments ... your lack of knowledge is glaring!

[Beaux510]

Obviously, Obama's marketing people are doing their job. There is no better way to spend an advertising dollar than on NASCAR. It's been verified through countless independent studies conducted by marketing firms, it's verifiable and quantifiable.

As an amateur racer (one big-time Pro race under my belt doesn't mean I can call myself a pro), I have at times got the urge to do it for a living and gone through the research. It's out there, but you have to pay for the information. The numbers on ROI in NASCAR sponsorship are stunning.

There's a reason that FedEx, Coca-Cola, UPS, Sony, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Budweiser, Coors, 3M, DuPont, M&Ms, MinuteMaid and other corporate heavyweights put their dollar into NASCAR. It's called Return On Investment. If there wasn't a strong profit to be made, they wouldn't touch it.

Cheers to Obama's people for thinking outside the political box. Might be a good way to reach those voters who might not have even considered him as a possibility.

[JiminNC]

Thoroughly proven to be the most loyal consumer base in the world.

[NASCARLiberal]

As I've talked, in recent years, with people at all levels in NASCAR, many feel that the current administration really "suckered" them. Many fans didn't vote Republican last time and many more won't this year.

Thanks Team Obama for recognizing this.

[teron678]

Good Marketing Skills ......

[williamg]

Obamobile?

[bosshogg]

lol

[sandtats]

LOL!!!!!!!

[midknightryder13]

Taking it's place along some of the other memorable cars in history: KITT, the Mach 5, The Batmobile and the Black Beauty.

All kidding aside, it's moves like this that have to have the other side scratching their heads thinking, "Why didn't WE think of that?" This is brilliant.

[Weathermaker]

It's a good move until the Viagra car passes the Obama car.

Seriously, as a passionate Formula 1 fan, I think nascar is boooooring... but advertising there is brilliant.

[NASCARLiberal]

Viagra no longer sponsors a car. Prilosec, yes. Viagra, no.

[Waltb31]

This is a GREAT move. Not only will the campaign car have visual exposure; the TV broadcasters always identify the car by the number and the sponsor, not the manufacturer. So if Obama's car is anywhere close to the top 15, his name will be mentioned on national tv for at least 3 solid hours. If his driver wins, the driver ALWAYS credits the main sponsor, as well as the additional sponsors.
Plus, he is reaching an audience that he wouldn't necessarily be able to with traditional advertising.
A win-win-win situation!