Army’s $7.4 million NASCAR sponsorship safe after proposed ban fails in U.S. House
The U.S. Army pays $7.4 million to sponsor Ryan Newman and Stewart-Haas Racing. // Walter Scriptunas, NASCAR Illustrated
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The U.S. Army’s sponsorship of NASCAR and other motorsports teams is based a simple philosophy – new recruits just don’t walk in the door and sign up.
“I have to invest in awareness,” said Lt. Gen. Benjamin Freakley, who commands the Army’s recruiting program.
“In some venue or another, I have to make some form of investment to make the American people aware of their Army. … The alternative to this is having a recruiter walk up and down a mall and talk to about 150 people to get one person to engage them.”
Freakley spoke Friday at Daytona International Speedway to explain the purpose of the Army’s NASCAR sponsorship in light of legislation proposed by U.S. Congresswoman Betty McCollum, a Minnesota Democrat in the House of Representatives who submitted an amendment to a pending bill that would ban the military from sponsoring race cars.
The amendment was debated on the House floor Thursday night and voted down, 281-148, Friday afternoon with Democrats voting 118-72 in favor of the ban but Republicans voting 209-30 against it.
Freakley said that the U.S. Army pays $7.4 million for its 15-race sponsorship of Stewart-Haas Racing’s Ryan Newman, $3.9 for its NHRA sponsorship of Tony Schumacher and approximately $8 million across all motorsports in yearlong activation of the sponsorship through its Army experience display and other programs.
The debate on the House floor over that spending lasted about eight minutes.
“For $7 million, the Army buys a decal on a race car and a few drivers appearances,” McCollum said on the floor of the House of Representatives. “But it’s not only the Army spending millions of dollars, the Air Force sponsors a NASCAR race car for millions and so does the National Guard. And incredibly over the past decade, hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ dollars have subsidized race-car owners, millionaire drivers in the name of military recruitment.
“Now here’s the $7 million question: Does slapping a sticker on a race car convince a young man or a young woman to volunteer to serve our country in the armed forces?”
Of the 150,000 potential recruits reached through the sports marketing program, 46,000 came from NASCAR and motorsports, Freakley said in a news conference at the track.
“If I had my way, our marketing and advertising would be so good it would be a walk-in market … and people would walk right in and say, ‘I’m ready to join up, let me fill out the paperwork,’” Freakley said. “We’re not there, but we’re working on it.”
The Army had planned to announce a sponsorship program for diversity driver Darrell Wallace but postponed the announcement considering the pending vote in the House.
McCollum, who reportedly alerted police about a death threat she received in connection to the proposed legislation, cited the Marines, Navy and The Coast Guard dropping sponsorships in the last five years as a sign that they cannot gauge the return on investment.
When asked about those comments, Freakley said that the Army has greater needs than those other divisions just by shear volume of personnel and because the recent wars have depleted the Army. He said the Army is doing a better job of tracking people whom they make contact with at the track and whether they continue to consider the Army.
Freakley said that he appreciates the debate on the issues of fiscal responsibility. Two congressmen spoke against the amendment on the House floor.
“This amendment will not save one single dime,” said Patrick McHenry, a Republican from North Carolina. “My colleague from Minnesota is simply misinformed. Every dime spent in this sponsorship program is measurable. … Let’s be very clear. This sponsorship is about recruiting. This amendment is about politics, in certain districts for certain groups of people.”
“Young people and their parents have this passion point about NASCAR, and we do know they come to the races and we do know … they come to [our] strength and action zone,” Freakley said. “They talk to our soldiers. They talk to our sergeants. We have a common dialogue on no threatening ground.
“You’re not standing in a recruiting station on the brink of a decision. You’re at a NASCAR event to have a discussion and a deep dialogue.”
