IHRA SIGNS HOOTERS AS SERIES SPONSOR?
By Jeff Burk
Photo Courtesey of Hooters.com
Drag Racing Online has learned that on Friday March 22, IHRA president
Bill Bader will in all probability announce that the Hooters restaurant
chain will be named as the series sponsor for the IHRA drag racing series.
Sources indicate that it will be a one-year contract, but were unable
to tell us what the dollar amount of the contract would be for. It is
assumed, since IHRA has already posted the points fund payout for the
2002, that the points fund will remain the same if not more, which is
what IHRA President Bill Bader has been telling racers and the press
for the past several months.
If Hooters is indeed the series sponsor for IHRA, it would be a major
coup for the both the IHRA and professional drag racing in general.
The Hooters restaurant chain and the Coca-Cola company's POWERade brand
as series sponsors represent a radical departure away from the alcohol,
tobacco, and oil product sponsors that drag racing has had over the
past four decades.
Both of these companies are trying to reach the 18-35 age group and
are definitely more family-oriented companies. It is also a very healthy
sign that both of these companies formerly were almost exclusively involved
in oval track racing. Coca-Cola, of course, is heavily involved with
the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit and Hooters has sponsored race teams
as well as the USAR Hooters Pro Cup for Late Model cars. They are also
involved with the NGA Hooters Golf Tour. They also sponsored a jet-powered
funny car and former IHRA T/S competitor.
The Hooters involvement with IHRA would seem to be a perfect fit for
both companies. Information supplied by Hooters indicates that 70% of
their customers are males in the 25-54 year old age group, which should
be the target audience for drag racing. Hooters, started in 1983 in
Clearwater, Florida, are the operators and franchisers of over 280 Hooters
restaurants worldwide, and have their corporate headquarters in Atlanta.
The IHRA has 12 National Events at tracks predominantly located east
of the Mississippi River and in Canada.
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