With the "exception of a few well-funded teams," the
list of IRL team sponsors has "read more like a corporate
Who's That? than a Who's Who," but the league "may be making
headway," according to Bill Koenig of the INDIANAPOLIS STAR-
NEWS. In the "past month," IRL teams have inked deals with
established companies like Yahoo! and Energizer. IRL
VP/Sales & Marketing John Newcomb: "You get a Yahoo! or
Energizer, it reinforces the league." Although "no figures
have been announced for the recent deals," IEG "estimates"
have the IRL drawing about $105M in sponsorships this year,
up 4% from '98. IRL execs admit that "they are getting more
corporate interest" from non-traditional motorsports
sponsors, such as Internet and computer companies. Newcomb:
"We're talking to one other (Internet) search engine" (STAR-
NEWS, 5/27). In the SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, Andy Bernstein
reports that Indianapolis Motorspeedway Properties, the
marketing arm of both the IRL and the Indy 500, says that
"sponsorship revenue has grown" 30% annually over the "last
several years." Sam's Club is the "newest" IRL partner and
will stage an "extensive regional" promo offering a Monte
Carlo pace car (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 5/24 issue).
LESS COMPETITION MEANS MORE SALES: In Indy, Bill Koenig
writes of "good news and bad news" for vendors at the Indy
500 this year. Koenig: "The good news: Sales are up. The
bad: It's partly because weak sales in past years have
caused a shakeout." So far, 44 vending licenses have been
issued for the Indy 500, compared to about 170 last year and
about 280 in '97 (INDIANAPOLIS STAR-NEWS, 5/27).
REV IT UP: FL-based real estate developer Bluegreen
Corp. and OH-based restaurant chain Damon Int'l are
associate sponsors of the Tyce Carlson-driven No. 20
Pennzoil Blueprint-Immke Racing Dallara-Oldsmobile for
Sunday's Indy 500. Bluegreen also has branding rights to an
in-car camera in Scott Goodyear's No. 4 car (Bluegreen).
