DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript

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Lucas Oil, NOS Energy Drink evolve dirt racing sponsorships | Daily 1-17-2023

Motorsports of any kind don't operate without plenty of dollars, and that usually means sponsors of various types. I want to talk today about recent moves from two of the most recognized brands involved in dirt racing, Lucas Oil and NOS Energy Drink. So let's get into it.

It's Tuesday, January 17th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily.

Over your lifetime of watching and/or competing in motorsports, there are certain brands that were synonymous with a specific driver or team or series. Examples include things like the Winston Cup and STP and Richard Petty. When you think of Sammy Swindell, I'm sure a sponsor or two come to mind, like ChannelLock or Kodiak. Same with Steve Kinser. The Rocket house car has been Valvoline branded for how long now? And in this current generation of dirt racing, the Lucas Oil company and NOS Energy Drink can be seen and found in a lot of places. I don't necessarily have a specific thesis for today's show, but I did want to point you towards some interesting moves in the last year or couple of years for these two big supporters of racing. If you're interested in sports business and the business of dirt racing, we are seeing some shifts from these two, which isn't uncommon for companies involved in these types of sponsorships, but intriguing none the less.

We'll start first with the Lucas Oil company. Makers of all sorts of lubricants and chemical products for automotive, the tie-ins with motorsports are obviously easy and work well. In dirt racing alone, Lucas not only owns the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, but they've partnered with a number of other series and racers including Earl Pearson Jr., Rico Abreu, and others. But in recent years, we've seen a fairly seismic shift in their involvement across all types of motorsports, and it would appear the key driving factor in all of it was a change in company leadership in 2020. In May of that year, Morgan Lucas, son of founder Forrest Lucas, was named company president, and in the couple of years since, we've seen a fairly significant pullback in their support of various programs. We've seen them discontinue their offroad series and end their ownership of the Pro Pulling League, even though they remain a sponsor. Lucas also ended a 22 year partnership with offshore powerboat racer Nigel Hook in 2022, and in dirt racing they are no longer part of the branding of the Comp Cams Super Dirt Series or the Empire Super Sprints. There were rumors in recent months that changes were coming to the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series as well, but at least for 2023, everything has remained status quo. Around the late model series though, we've seen a signficant change in broadcasting, with FloRacing taking over the streaming for that series, and the MAVTV Plus service going away completely. Their plus platform had been plagued with all sorts of issues, and it's clear that it was not a major revenue driver for them. This has all gone on along with the company moving it's headquarters from California to Indiana this past year. Their sponsorship news though hasn't been all about pullbacks. They obviously continue to support the late model series, EPJ's car is still very heavily Lucas branded for 2023, and we just watched full weeks of the Lucas Oil Tulsa Shootout and Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. Late in 2022, they also extended their deal with the NHRA for another three years to remain the title sponsor of the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and as the official oil of the NHRA. It is important to note that Morgan was a long time competitor in NHRA, racing in top fuel. With Morgan at the helm now though, they seem to be consolidating their resources, and maybe cutting ties with certain programs that were either lower in value or not performing at all. The pullbacks don't appear to be a complete departure from motorsports, but instead focusing more on the deals that bring the most ROI. It seems that Forrest was maybe more free in his support of certain areas, while Morgan is more concerned with the numbers and actual impact.

As for NOS Energy Drink, their support of dirt racing continues to roll along, and we are even seeing the program's director in Lauren Albano slowly creep the brand into other areas. Besides sponsoring the USAC Midget Series and the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars, NOS is the main partner for Tyler Courtney, Sheldon Haudenschild, Chris Windom, the Matt Wood Racing teams between midgets and sprint cars, and Justin Grant's various rides. On top of that, we've seen them with branding in NASCAR, drifting, and rally cross. For 2023 though, we'll also see NOS full time with a major late model series, as Nick Hoffman's rookie effort with Tye Twarog and the World of Outlaws is being supported by the energy drink brand. Hoffman flew NOS colors recently on his modified, and on his midget at the Chili Bowl, and we've seen NOS late models in the past, but not full time. The NOS line of drinks is owned by the Monster Beverage company, and Holley Performance still owns the NOS brand itself, with the drinks being a licensing deal between the two companies. Don't forget NOS was originally a line of nitrous oxide systems and parts, which you can still buy today. Unlike Monster or Red Bull, NOS doesn't have the massive deals in other sports and even motorsports. But it has found a foothold in dirt racing that seems to be paying dividends, as Lauren continues to slowly expand the brand's footprint. It's been a way to reach a very specific customer base and at probably a much lower price point.

I'm not necessarily making direct comparisons between Lucas and NOS here, and like I said before, I don't have a specific thesis, but it is interesting to take a look at their strategies over the last several years. One pulling back and concentrating their efforts, with the other being fairly methodical and slow in their expansion.

Moving on, we are getting down to the final weeks with the iRacing World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, and last night was round eight of ten. The series was at Knoxville Raceway, and newcomer Timothy Smith entered with just a five point lead over multi-time champion Alex Bergeron. Series vet Tyler Schell has maintained contact as well, and he was 33 back to start the night. After preliminary action was complete, Tyler Ducharme was on the pole with Kenny Miller to his outside, but neither driver would end up finishing in the top five. Bergeron had the highest starting position of the championship contenders in third, while Smith started eighth and Schell 10th. Ducharme led the opening few laps, but it wasn't long before Bergeron seized control. Once out front, nobody was able to challenge him and he ended up winning by nearly two seconds over Evan Seay. Smith did grab a podium after that eighth place start, and Schell went 10th to fourth. The win for Bergeron though was enough for him to take back the championship lead, with Smith now two points back. Schell is still 39 back in third, but his chances to stay in the fight are diminishing with just two races remaining. The final two races left are at Weedsport on January 23rd and Charlotte on January 30th. With his experience winning these titles, Bergeron should have a slight edge in the race for $10,000, but Smith has been a nice surprise this year. You can watch these races live on Monday nights at 9PM eastern, free on DIRTVision and on YouTube.

It's a quiet day on the streaming services with just DIRTVision Now and FloRacing 24/7. To see the full daily streaming schedule with links to watch, visit dirtrackr.com/watchtonight.

Alright, that's it for the show today. Have a good Monday. Thanks everyone for tuning in. We'll be back here tomorrow for more DIRTRACKR Daily.