Sponsor dollars "still aren't flowing freely among"
teams in the IRL, according to Bill Koenig of the
INDIANAPOLIS STAR, who cites Chicago-based IEG as claiming
that the league will "draw an estimated" $143M in
sponsorship this year, an 18% increase from last year. But
while a "few team owners" have "adequate sponsorship or deep
pockets for racing," many teams are "still finding the IRL
is a hard sell," as many "sidepods -- the side of the car
considered the best display for a sponsor -- still are
blank." Additionally, other cars "carry sponsor names that
paid bargain rates." In a primary sponsorship deal with
Pagan Racing signed last year, Yahoo! "itself wouldn't put
much money into" the team, but "other companies that help
out would get preferential advertising treatment" on the
Yahoo! search engine. But Koenig notes that Yahoo! did not
renew its deal when it expired (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 5/23).
AT INDY: CNBC's Mike Hegedus reported while the Indy
500 has "lost a little of its luster the last five years,"
this year, "a lot of the buzz is back." Hegedus: "Tech
sector companies account for a remarkable 33% of
sponsorships at Indianapolis and a healthy chunk of the
money that is fueling the growth of the entire nine event
[IRL]." Indianapolis Motor Speedway CMO Bob Reif said IRL
title sponsor Northern Light allows them to do "one-to-one
marketing, via their search engine, talking to new fans, ...
going after people that aren't coming here." IRL Founder
Tony George, on tech companies' involvement with the league:
"It's been a very good business sector to be involved with
as we're trying to grow this series" ("The Edge," CNBC,
5/22). George is also interviewed in the SPORTSBUSINESS
JOURNAL and says the IRL needs "to develop stars, which is
how fans relate. That's the way NASCAR has been able to
create a very stable series" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 5/22).
