Friendly takeover

Cope has unique plan to spread the sponsorship wealth

Divide and conquer, that's the plan of attack for Winston Cup driver Derrike Cope.

Considered one of the top business minds among drivers and owners in the sport, Cope won the 1990 Daytona 500, has worked as a television commentator and is a commercial pitchman for Avocor. Now he's putting that business savvy to work on the track.

"Twenty years ago when sponsorship costs for a top team were in the hundreds of thousands instead of seven and eight figures, you could find companies willing to take a pro-active look at team sponsorship," says Cope. "These days, a decision goes to the very top of the company. You have to show these companies the value. There has to be a return on investment."

Fielding a competitive Winston Cup team can cost $10 million to $15 million a year. Factor in allowing a rookie's maturation period and sponsors are investing $40 million to $75 million. And in a time where the Busch series has become even less of a value for sponsors, gathering sponsors to share the costs of a Winston Cup operation is a novel approach.

To that end, Cope's plan is simple: Spread the wealth via dividing the cost to conquer the field.

"Sponsorship is pretty expensive for a lot of companies but racing is expensive, and you can't give the return of investment to a corporate sponsor unless you have the financial backing to do it right," explains Cope. "We looked at this a different way. Instead of one company putting $8 million into a car, why not see if we can work with four companies putting $2 million in each? Or five companies?

"Every time I stand in front of a board of directors or a corporate chairman, I have to keep that in the front of my mind. These people got there because they know business. If I can show them how sponsorship my race team is good for their business, they are going to jump on board, no matter what they think about racing personally."

In a time when money matters are the talk of many garages, Cope may be on to something here. It's also a way to help NASCAR further expand its fan base -- and business partners, especially in the West. Securing companies as the primary sponsor for regional races makes sense, maybe even cents. Great Barrier Reef Online was Cope's primary sponsor at California Speedway last week, and may add some races throughout the season.

Friendly's Ice Cream, a family restaurant company that serves sandwiches, entrees and desserts, again will sponsor Cope's No. 37 Quest Motor Racing Chevrolet this week at Richmond, Va. The company sponsored Cope in the Daytona 272 1/2, has appeared on the car as an associate sponsor in other early season races and also will be the primary sponsor in at least four other races this year.

Two major promotions are planned around the races, including one that has just begun at www.friendlys.com, which allows race fans to win prizes, including an all-expense paid weekend with Cope and the race team at a race later this season.

"Friendly's is a great example of what we are looking to do," says Cope. "They want to be a part of NASCAR Winston Cup racing but, at this point, have a hard time justifying marketing in the southwest or midwest where they don't currently have restaurants. So they picked the areas where they do have restaurants -- like Richmond this week -- and put everything into those select races."

So what's unique about having a part-time sponsor? Nothing, really -- but here's the cherry on top: Cope has been working with other companies to secure regional sponsorships in areas outside of the main Friendly's areas, and to develop cross-marketing and cross-promotions.

"Friendly's is a great company with a great product, but they aren't in San Francisco right now," says Cope. "So we are very close to announcing a San Francisco-based company that will come on board as a primary sponsor for some races later this year. That's the way we're putting this together."

If Cope's plan is fruitful, expect other teams to pick from that tree. It's a great plan -- on paper -- and if Cope can turn the sponsorships into on-track results, it'll be just desserts for forward-thinking.

B. Duane Cross is a senior producer for SI.com.

Got a comment or question for Duane? Click here.

 

Related information

Stories

Previous B. Duane Cross Columns 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Schedule

Multimedia

Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video