19 replies to this topic

[diego]

Each NASCAR racing car runs with a large collection of small sponsor decals in the area immediately behind the front wheels.

Is there a name for this zone of decals? If so, what is it?

Thanks in advance.

[V10 Fireworks]

Hmmm.... IMHO I thought it was very interesting, that while these NASCARS tend to have fairly slick liverys they all have these little jumbled sponsor decals.

[Dudley]

Yes there is.

Can't remember it, but it was definetly called something.

[Megatron]

Those are most titile sponsors or "The offical X of NASCAR". They are worth a small amount of money per each and some you have to run if your in a particular compeittion like the fastest pit stop award or something like that.

I think you are only required to run the Nextel decal but most everyone runs things like Bud Pole Award. The Petty's don't. They have some kind of moral stance that comes from the King's mother where they won't allow beer decals on the car.

Goodyear is always there but it doesn't have to be. A while back when Tony Stewart laid into Goodyear they were so upset they considered taking the Goodyear branding off the cars and making the 20 team pay full price for their tires.

When 9/11 happened, the 36 team, at that point backed by M&Ms, wanted to run a completely blank car with an American flag livery at Dover. NASCAR wouldn't let them remove a few of those decals, the ones that to mind were Winston, Bud, MAC Tools, and 76 Gas. The rest of the car was blank.

Miller has had in its contract since 1991 to try and keep those to a minimum becuse they feel it takes away from their exposure a bit with all those decals crammed into the front fenders and in front of the door.

DEI has something similar so they can have the "E" streching across the sides.

[MaxScelerate]

I have no idea if the word is the same, but in simulators (gaming) groups, this bunch of decals is called "contingencies". From what I understand, they are sponsors that will give money to anyone sticking a decal on his car so most everyone does indeed use one.

Ah, I got it from Google Answers ( http://answers.googl...adview?id=38237 )

Although it could be argued that the above mentioned "Special
Corporate Programs" includes the contingencies, the description is
rather misleading. Contingencies are responsible for all those little
bitty stickers on the front and rear fenders of the cars. One easily
seen example is the Goodyear logo found above each wheel arch. If a
NASCAR racecar has a sticker over each wheel arch and uses Goodyear
tires then the car is paid monies. This is the same for every sticker
you see on the cars.

[diego]

Hey, this is excellent info. Another example of why Atlast is better than Google for all things motorsports.

Thank you very much!

Diego

[Jordan191]

it's called a quarter panel

[MaxScelerate]

Isn't then the quarter panel the actual 'part of the car' where the 'contingencies decals' are stuffed?

[theunions]

Originally posted by Megatron
I think you are only required to run the Nextel decal but most everyone runs things like Bud Pole Award. The Petty's don't. They have some kind of moral stance that comes from the King's mother where they won't allow beer decals on the car.

I have always found this to be a strange double standard - that alcohol is forbidden but they never have had any qualms about advertising tobacco (Winston). Worse was when this screwed John Andretti out of poles (and a Bud Shootout appearance) whenever he won poles in the #43 (Bobby Hamilton not being allowed his pole rewards, OTOH, I could care less about).

Regarding contingencies in general, NASCAR supposedly mandates the specific placement location of many if not most brands, but they do vary, slightly at the very least, from car to car and race to race, even among teammates.

[stylus]

OT - but where does "decals" come from? And is it just a US term (for uk "logos", I presume)?

[MaxScelerate]

Originally posted by stylus
OT - but where does "decals" come from? And is it just a US term (for uk "logos", I presume)?

Nothing particularly 'american' about that name. The 'decals' are the stickers, not what's on them... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decal

[George Bailey]

Originally posted by Jordan191
it's called a quarter panel

.... because back in the early days it cost $0.25 to get your add placed there....

[Ross Stonefeld]

I knew the guy who looked after the sponsorships for Haas-Carter until that operation imploded; and he told me once what the space was roughly worth with all the decals. I figure these days you coculd sell that space to a paying sponsor for as much as or more, and have a much better looking car.

If I were NASCAR id get rid of the numbers on the side and move them to the rear quarter panel (wasnt ASA or ARCA or someone trying this?) allowing the door area for the primary sponsor, a la touring car; and overall much better liveries. They'd still have the roof for the huge identification number.

[ensign14]

I've never seen the point for that mass of stickers, you cannot read them and aesthetically it is a disaster.

[Ross Stonefeld]

On my old computer I had a NASCAR TV exposure report for every decal on anything that season. The contingency sponsors actually do pretty good.

[random]

Originally posted by diego
Hey, this is excellent info. Another example of why Atlast is better than Google for all things motorsports.

Thank you very much!

Diego

Uh, he got the answer from Google. I'm sure Google is the better repository of all things autosport. Although for F1, Atlas is hard to beat.

[JRobert]

How about going to the source for this one? NASCAR.com has a very detailed two-part series about how the money flows. Here's what it has to say about "contingencies"

"The real ticklish part is contingency funds. The decals that adorn a Nextel Cup stock car are not there for show. They serve to identify which contingency products a particular car is using, and therefore which contingency funds pay into that team's winnings at the end of every race. To be eligible for contingency award payouts, teams must use the product and carry the decal on their car.

"NASCAR determines decal placement for its required decals, like Budweiser, Sunoco Race Fuels, and so on, and they go on the front fenders and the front quarters behind the wheel wells all the way up to the door panels and beyond. The teams are allowed certain areas of the car for their own use for primary, associate and other sponsors.

"Some teams choose not to run certain decals, and are therefore ineligible for the money being offered for those programs. For instance, when Richard Petty's car won a pole with John Andretti at the wheel some years ago, he did not qualify for what was then the Busch Clash because he had never run a Busch decal on the side of his famed No. 43 machine. His reason? The King said running a Busch decal on his car would have upset his mother, who did not hold with the consumption of alcohol.

"NASCAR sponsors, like Sunoco Racing Gasoline, Busch and so on, have funds set aside to reward drivers using their parts or products both by race and for the season. Other products, like Penske Shocks, Competition Cams, etc., have similar programs set up and issue either cash or certificates worth a set amount of product.

"By virtue of the plan each car is qualified for, the number of decals on the car and which contingency programs the teams are involved in, prize money differs per driver per race. For example, Jimmie Johnson, by virtue of his second-place finish in the series point standings last year, is a driver on one of the plans, and he's currently leading the points this year. His car owner, Rick Hendrick, has been in NASCAR for the past 20 years, and therefore, he can finish well down in the order and still make more in prize money than the driver who finishes many places higher.

And here's the link: http://www.nascar.co...oney/index.html

[Megatron]

The problem I have, like someone else mentioned, is that the Petty's poles (years ago, they don't run well enough now) don't "count". OK, don't give them prize money and don't send them to the Bud Shootout, but I remember in 1997 Derrick Cope got the pole, the prize money, and the Bud Shootout invitation because he was second (I think it was Pocono, not sure?).

I get a NASCAR (insert year here) book every year and sometimes its counted as a pole for Cope, others not.

Hey, if your in the P1 position and you qualified fastest, its a pole.

76 used to have a sponsorship deal for those who used their motor oil. Since everyone had a deal with gas, they couldn't hardly run advertisments on that but if you also ran their motor oil (it was basically the teams with no motor oil sponsors) you would be in adverts and some end of year plans. They used to have a roll over 7600 week to week for a pole/win but cut that out. That was available to everyone.

Another inconsistency on NASCAR is that technically you can't advertise gasoline because of 76 and now Sunoco. You have have a big star on the hood but you can't advertise their octacne levels. You can get around it easily of course, by advertising the company itself and/or motor oil.

Texaco once tried to back a BGN car in 1991 with their diesel brand but were told they couldn't because of the afore mentioned stipulation.

Sort of like NASCAR turning down AT&T and Nokia and not wanting Altel and Cingular because of Nextel.

Never mind we have Miller and Coors despite Bud being "The Offical Beer of NASCAR" or whatever they call it now.

[diego]

Originally posted by random

Uh, he got the answer from Google. I'm sure Google is the better repository of all things autosport. Although for F1, Atlas is hard to beat.

Chill out with the sarcasm. I don't need it. We don't need it. The world doesn't need it.

[Nasty McBastard]

there was a story (or 2) on nascar.com a few months back that explained the whole prize money thing, in which a part of it was spent explaining what megatron mentioned....basically that all those little stickers let a team win 'extra' money. oes on about what 'stickers' let you be elegable for what money etc.....and a bunch of other stuff....

kind of an interesting read.....

http://www.nascar.co...oney/index.html
http://www.nascar.co...ries/index.html