rolex car count

[DavePI2]

Has anyone but myself noticed the car count dropping with the dp's? Does anyone know what the reason is? I know most other series are having the same problem with car counts but it always seemed that the rolex series was the only one that was immune to this. There were only 17 dp's for the Iowa race. At this race there will be more prototypes in ALMS then Rolex before long.

David

[harvick#1]

I've got to think Sponsorship, very few people even know Grand Am exists anymore.

[FormerFF]

I've got to think Sponsorship, very few people even know Grand Am exists anymore.

I don't think it's so much a loss of interest as much as the interest never having been there.

It seems to me that the attrition has been mostly in the teams that were sponsored by their drivers. I think that it is a natural progression whenever a new series is born, that there are a lot of teams that are optimistic about their chances in the new series, then come to realize just how hard it is to be competitive, and eventually drop out. I think the ALMS had that happen a few years ago, but now with Porsche and Acura joining Audi and Corvette as competitors, the teams now entering have a pretty good idea just how tough it is. Will Grand Am see the same upswing in a few years? Not unless they are able to raise the commercial value of the series.

[IMSAFAN1]

Outside of the 24 hour race..car count hasn't really changed. The contenders are still there running a full season. The only car running without any sponsorship is the Jim Mathews car. They've always had around 17 to 20 cars at every event. Just a question here.....who went to the IOWA race? From the looks of it there wasn't any spectators. Also the drivers think that the track was a mickey mouse design. Almost like Phoenix. The transition from the infield to the oval needs to be more gentle.

[grassrootsracer]

I know Finlay Motorsports dropped out, but that wasn't due purely to sponsor issues. That accounts for one or two cars. The entry list for the Porsche 250 at Barber stands at seventeen cars as well. (Hopefully it stays around that number, as I'll be there next weekend)

[grassrootsracer]

Although, I believe that chassis is now in posession of Chip Ganassi, so that should even things out a bit.

[FormerFF]

Last year at the Barber race, there were 23 DP finishers. This year there are 17 starters expected. I'd say that 17 is significantly less than 23.

[Danske]

Things are a little stagnant right now because of the status quo not being static for '08. Grand-Am is allowing all the DP constructors to take a second cut at bodywork for '08, letting in Sabre as a new constructor, and allowing existing constructors to transfer their licenses to other parties. The last has already resulted in Multimatic giving their license to a collaboration between Lola and Krohn, and Doran has been talking with Dallara. They're also allowing engine manufacturers to submit unique bodywork for 08 to be used with one particular chassis; for example, Ford could design (or commission the design of) bodywork for a Ford-powered Lola/Krohn DP and have it be designated as simply the "Ford DP". You can bet any potential new teams are waiting to see how everything shapes up in 08. The usual turnover of some teams leaving and new teams coming in is a little low on the new team end right now. And any change makes existing car owners unhappy, nervous, and tight with money.

The Trans-Am teams that were around last year, Cytosport, Rocketsport, and Derhaag, managed only one top-ten finish, a tenth, among the three of them, and are gone this year; just to touch on the area of teams possibly finding the waters deeper than expected.

Howard motorsports also had their season scuttled by their Rolex 24 package being shot down at the late date of November (the rumors were split whether it was the ALMS or Honda/Acura who insisted that Danica Patrick not drive in the Rolex 24; you can go read DC William's account [1] and Howard-Boss's press release [2] on that subject right on this site), and Crawford is focusing their resources on preparing for '08 right now.

So things will be some different in '08 and everything's a little more uncertain than usual in racing, but a few current one-car teams have been talking about expanding to two cars (and both SunTrust and Sigalsport have expanded their operations), Sabre should also show up with a couple of their new DPs, and a couple engine manufacturers may take advantage of the "engine specific" bodywork option. That's not to be making a hard prediction that things will dramatically pick-up next year, but the reasons things are a little slow this year are also reasons why things could be different next year. (Oh, and I suppose some more teams could drop out before being replaced as everything continues to shake-out after the changes, but back when the DP class was first introduced there were only four regular DP entries throughout the season and they came back from that.)

Oh, regarding Finlay, I believe Rob Finlay himself still owns the car now being run by Ganassi, and he and Valiante are still driving it (finished 2nd at Iowa to the Ganassi car driven by Pruett and Rojas).

[1] http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=240392&FS=GRANDAM
[2] http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=237831&FS=GRANDAM

[racefanfromnj]

well said sir

[NYCracer]

well just to throw in my two cents you guys can count on one more team in the Rolex GT series for next year as I am contracted to buy a 2008 GT3 Cup car. Anyone looking for a car to sponsor? ;)

[racefanfromnj]

i can help sir i can maybe muster up enough cash to buy a few lug nuts sorry i cant help more the divorce and lawyers have cleaned me out

[Mark in Oshawa]

I look forward to some new cars in DP. I figured the drop in cars was due to this, and I am glad it was confirmed....

[DavePI2]

good to see 21 dp's again this weekend.

David

[jh11]

well just to throw in my two cents you guys can count on one more team in the Rolex GT series for next year as I am contracted to buy a 2008 GT3 Cup car. Anyone looking for a car to sponsor? ;)

NYCracer,

Best of luck to you next year. I approached the sponsorship problem from the opposite direction, so I'll throw my two-cents in.

My reasons were to find an appropriate marketing medium to promote a product, and I started looking at various racing series, and the Rolex GT Series came out on top. In my opinion it's one of the most undervalued sponsorship opportunities if the product/service fit is right.

Obviously there's liabilities associated with the series, like television coverage and race attendance, so if that's a companies primary objective, it's not the best deal in town. A company could become an associate sponsor with Champ Car; have a booth at their races with +40k attendance; and run four 30-second ad spots per race, throughout their yearly television coverage - for less than the cost of sponsoring a Rolex GT car. Those are hard numbers that will be looked at and shouldn't be considered "selling points".

I'm not saying ignore those points when talking with potential sponsors, but save the television coverage and race attendance (primarily the 24hrs) as "closing points," because in a sense they're liabilities compared to competing options. Unless you happen to get a big check at the end of your first sit, more than likely the first thing that potential sponsor is going to do is ask GA for the Joyce Julius Sponsor Report. That's basically an independant research firm watching the race on TV; counting the number of visible/identifiable logo impressions; sponsor mentions; etc.; computing that against television viewership; and factored against the cost for a comparable 30-sec ad spot. The bottom-line is there's a dollar symbol attached to this, and if that's your presentation - it ends up in the trash - along with your credibility.

There's more to it than the above, and believe me I understand "the passion of racing," but there's also the "business of racing". Over the last several months I've spoken with dozens of team owners, drivers looking for sponsors, series PR people, etc. - and I get the emotion. However, at the end of the day, all that emotion is tempered by the guy in accounting - but there's a trump card with him: it's the BoD's, CEO, owner(s), VP of marketing, etc… In other words: the visionaries. What visionaries need and use is the "image". And that in my mind is the foundation or base of your presentation.

Before this post turned into the rambling thing it's become, I mentioned I felt "the Rolex GT Series is the most undervalued sponsorship opportunity out there". Here's why I think that is so: image.

Image is all that really matters to the visionaries. You don't see a fat chick in a Diet Pepsi commercial; nor do you see Al Bundy with his hand in his pants in a Pepsi commercial. It's the hot chick and the stud having fun, i.e. an image. But in reality, it's the fat chick buying the Diet Pepsi, and Al Bundy watching Jeff Gordon who's buying and drinking the Pepsi. Why is that?

Because the people making decisions don't sell or market to who people are: they market to who people want to be. Every one of us holds this altruistic self-image - you find a way to appeal to that - you find a way to motivate people into buying your product.

Rather than going on and on with this, what are the real attributes you have available?

Porsche.[/*:m:v20iadz2]
Rolex.[/*:m:v20iadz2]
Racing.[/*:m:v20iadz2]
24 Hours of Daytona.[/*:m:v20iadz2]Rephrased:

Porsche = Status.[/*:m:v20iadz2]
Rolex = Status.[/*:m:v20iadz2]
Racing = Competitiveness[/*:m:v20iadz2]
24 Hours… = Ultimate competitive status.[/*:m:v20iadz2]In marketing terms, for those looking for sponsors: after the equal sign is your demographic. Not only are they your market - they are the decision makers to appeal to that market.

Long story short NYCracer: take a trip to the local bookstore and their magazine rack. Bypass the car rags and focus on the GQ section - that's your demo. Buy those magazines and flip through the ads - you'll find your sponsor. If a company is advertising in GQ - their demo is the same as yours.

But most important of all: the first guy you talk to all, up through the chain of decision making command - is the guy(s) who want a Rolex; a Porsche; and a bunch of television cameras around them in January. Approach it the right way - it's shooting fish in a barrel. You don't sell a Monet to the guy who wants it - you sell it to the guy who needs it. Motivating Emotions.

Sorry for all the babbling.

-jh

[Danske]

The Chase is currently on the entry list for Miller, as well as a new Porsche FABCAR entered by Spirit of Daytona.

[BobbyC]

The sponsors also get a deal for the Rolex 24, as many superstar drivers enter the race from other disciplines.

[trumperZ06]

I know Finlay Motorsports dropped out, but that wasn't due purely to sponsor issues. That accounts for one or two cars. The entry list for the Porsche 250 at Barber stands at seventeen cars as well. (Hopefully it stays around that number, as I'll be there next weekend)

:dozey: IMO... Normal attrition's taking place.

Racing is EXPENSIVE... and if you can't win or at least have a good chance to finish in the top 3, your sponsors quickly lose interest.

;) Hhmmm... come on out and join us the following weekend (Sept. 15/16th) !!! Chin is holding their D E Event @ Barber and we always have a wide variety of cars attending.

[Danske]

Cheever, Taylor, and Stallings have all been talking about adding second cars for next year, and Connolly is running the Chase as preparation for a season in DP next year, although I'd be surprised if it were with the Chase.

Tomorrow is also the deadline for the 2008 designs, so we may start getting trickles of news regarding those and other plans for next year.

[Danske]

a new Porsche FABCAR entered by Spirit of Daytona.

Slight correction: it's now a Cayenne Fabcar. ;)