Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

Wondering with the changes at Sears/Craftsman what Craftsman's "at the track" presence has been like for those who have been to a WoO Race this year so far?  From social media looks like not much has changed - contests, van with parts at the track, etc. 

From a business/sponsor perspective I thought Craftsman and WoO did a great job of engagement at the track last year.  Just curious for those who have been to a WoO Race this year so far.   

At Volusia, I'd say it was exactly like it was before the acquisition.  Banners were up, tool displays and trials set up, dash, and fan challenge were all Craftsman.

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Thanks Eric. Having a Top Tier, ENGAGED Primary Sponsor is great for the series (and sprint car racing as a whole...) and hopefully reaps benefits for the Craftsman brand.  Glad to hear everything is status quo "at the track."

Some don't like the idea of large sponsor $$'s because they have nightmares of someone saying Boogity Boogity Boogity at the start of the race. 

I however, agree with you.  If sprint car racing is going to survive, let alone thrive, it is going to need an engaged primary sponsor.   Craftsman seems to be just that. 

That is definitely beneficial, however the question really becomes are those receiving the sponsor engaged with them to make sure all their needs are being met. 

Wishful thinking on my end, but in order to make this thing bigger than it already is, I think they should do the following:

- Fan giveaways bigger than the fan challenge, like a raffle at the beginning of the night, and the winner gets a tool set. At Port Royal, they gave the fans a $5 gift card. They should do that more. 

- Sponsor a new race, or take over an existing one and brand it. Make that race a real marketing event, televise it etc...

- They already add money to the Craftsman Dash, but hardly anyone knows about it. Sponsor a hard charger award and give $500 or $1000 per race to the hard charger. 

If John Gibson said "boogity, boogity, boogity" before each WoO feature,  I would not go to another WoO race.  

Great points. 

I really like the tool set idea.  Craftsman (like every other manufacturer) has about 12-18 cents on the dollar in actual hard costs in a product.  They could give away a $2000 tool set for about $300 in actual costs.  If they are already toting around all of the equipment, employing all of the workers to take the show on the road, why not spend the extra $300? 

 Most Raffles and 50/50 's are not actually legal 

Now that's funny shit----and by the way, I agree

They give away a $50 gift card and a bottle opener each race. Makes them look like an extremely cheap brand. Better off giving away nothing than $50 and a bottle opener. Then again, sears is bankrupt for a reason, and it isnt because they are competent.

+1

You can tell an ass... but, you can't tell 'em much

Real mechanics use Snap-on..............

I don't think Sears owns Craftsman anymore. I believe they sold it off.

Black & Decker ?

Correct. That's why I was asking what their presence at WoO races this year was like since being sold. Sounds like nothing has changed.

Hey EGRAS, maybe at our next tailgate, we could steal the 'fan challenge' and use 6, or 12 packs of beer instead......Just to liven things up a bit

I don't believe the deal actually closes until late this year (aquisitions of this size are announced and generally take almost 12 months to complete).