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

Watching the helicopter deliver Rico's car to Eldora was pretty badass.

I just watched the making of that video and he stated it might be the coolest marketing piece sprint car racing has ever seen.

Is he right?  Was it the coolest? 

If not, what do you think was the coolest marketing of sprint car racing you've ever seen?

I have one I think that could challenge it, but its only a poster.  Social media wasn't huge in the 90s.

Steve Kinser standing in front of his Valvoline car with fighter jets in the background.  Thats always going to be my visual dominance of sprint car marketing.

Whats the one piece of sprint car marketing that blew your mind and made you love sprint car racing even more?

Side note... I was feeling down one day going to work.  I think I had a canceled sale that day. Pulling into my neighborhood, I heard a USCS, Pete Walton 15 second commercial on the John Boy and Billy Show promoting the Mule at Carolina Speedway this Friday night!  Won't lie.  It kinda cheered me up! 

Brandon McLain
United Sprint Car Series Driver
2014 Season
National Rookie of the Year!
National Points - 8th
Southern Points - 3rd
Asphalt Points - 3rd
18 Races, 3 Top 5's, 14 Top 10's

I'm a Navy flight deck catapult crew veteran so I watched helicopters do unreps (underway replenishment) many times.  In fact one time and crew went in the water and a guy being evacuated from sick bay on a stretcher went down with it.  Everybody else got out.

Likewise Kinser getting a ride in a jet.  We launched day and night, I literally shot planes off in afterburners every day when we were out to sea.  When the squadrons returned they'd fly in formation and peel off to land one at a time so every day was like an air show.

Anyways, I've been watching these cars for sixty six years and counting and photographed the best drivers of my era.  I think I he racing is exciting enough without loud music, helicopters and fighter jets.  One announcer these days announces every name in the lineup as if it's a cage match and that is getting irritating and requires the mute button as well.  Racing in s exciting but I don't know why anyone feels like all the gimmicks are necessary when Sprints stand out as an awesome type of racing without gimmicks.

Stan Meissner

Rico is all about the marketing. Hes pretty good at it

He defintally toned it down last couple years. Got a little obnoxious there for a while

I liked Rico before He went corporate.  He first came on the scene and was known for being a bit of a partier.  Who could forget some of his antics like the intro with Bloomquist at St. Louis.  At some point it's like he purposely changed his image.  When I was taking photos, and I quit ten years ago, he came to Cedar Lake one time with a solid dark blue car.  I got a couple pics of it and have never seen him up here since.  Out of sight, out of mind.  I have never met Him and will likely never see him race in person.  

Stan Meissner