Richmond's ready for Looney Tunes
By Tim Packman, Turner Sports Interactive
September 6, 2001
10:05 AM EDT (1830 GMT)
CONCORD, N.C. -- Special paint schemes aren't anything new on race cars. But, when the lights flick on for the Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 on Sept. 8 at Richmond International Raceway, look for some looney schemes with a different tune.
That night race at RIR will have seven different drivers carrying paint schemes of characters from the popular Looney Tunes cartoons. Look for the cars of Jeff Gordon, Jeff Green, Steve Park, Terry Labonte, Kevin Harvick, Mike Skinner and Bobby Hamilton to have some colorful passengers on their cars.
Gordon will have Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd on his Monte Carlo, while Terry Labonte sees if Wile E. Coyote can chase him and the unmatchable Road Runner into Victory Lane.
Park will appropriately have Sylvester and Tweety on his yellow Chevrolet and Harvick will be keeping his hands full with the Tasmanian Devil on board.
Green will be suffering the succotash with Daffy Duck on his hood and sides as Skinner puts up with the rabbit-hating Yosemite Sam.
Hamilton will be trying to make the competition very, very angry as he looks for a checkered flag with Marvin the Martian and K9 on board.
Taking off the regular exterior look to put on a special one for certain events is nothing new to NASCAR drivers. The late Dale Earnhardt set the stage with his 1995 shiny silver car for the Winston Select.
It was the first time he was ever approached about giving up his black No. 3 Chevrolet. But after some convincing, he allowed the scheme that commemorated R.J. Reynolds 25th anniversary in NASCAR.
The die-cast replica of Earnhardt's silver car did very well in sales. From there after, he changed paint schemes several times, carrying the 1996 Atlanta Olympic theme car and the Coca-Cola schemes he and Dale Earnhardt Jr. sported in the 1997 race in Japan.
Among collectible sellers, the Japanese exhibition race die-casts have reportedly been the biggest seller. Last year at the Daytona 500, the black No. 3 changed into a red Chevrolet. And if there was one Looney Tune character that epitomized Earnhardt, then it was truly fitting the Tasmanian Devil rode along.
That was the first venture by Chevrolet to bring Looney Tunes characters into NASCAR. As if NASCAR doesn't have enough characters of its own, Chevrolet knew melding the popularity of the two was a good move.
“We wanted to use Taz as a connection to our brand,” said Terry Dolan, assistant brand manager for Monte Carlo. “We saw a connection to both a mainstream audience in selling the production and what we do on the racetrack. Taz was the bridge we used communication-wise to tie those two elements together.
“When we had the race sponsorship for the Richmond race, we started talking to Warner Bros. people wondering what we could do raise the bar and create something between the two of us that we wouldn't be able to do on our own.”
The negotiations began in the winter of 1998 and soon started to incorporate other Looney Tunes characters.
Other drivers have had their share of special paint schemes, as well.
With Kellogg's sponsoring Labonte’s No. 5 Chevrolet, he’s had the Corn Flakes rooster, Snap, Crackle and Pop from Rice Krispies, and Tony the Tiger on the hood.
Mark Martin had different paint schemes when Valvoline was his primary sponsor. The black Eagle One No. 6 was the look he took to Victory Lane for The Winston in 1998.
Rusty Wallace has had Elvis Presley and Harley Davidson on some of his No. 2 Fords, as well.
This newest promotion can be seen as a winner for fans, drivers, Chevrolet, Warner Bros. and NASCAR. The formula was to combine the most popular cartoons often watched by adults with a car seen on the race track along with the growing interest in NASCAR
“One of the things when you look at NASCAR, from a marketing standpoint,” Dolan said, “is you have to look at how to make your brand unique so it rises to the surface from the visually-enhanced environment that plays out on the track each week. We think we have a winner.
“We've created a fun-loving environment that race fans can identify with. Parents and their children have been raised watching cartoons for years. You see adults wearing Looney Tunes clothing and buying collectibles. Now, between Monte Carlo, Warner Bros. and NASCAR, we've created a coolness or hip factor that ties in to all of this.”
And, of course, what would a special paint scheme be without the collectibles to go along with it? Thus, fans can look for Looney Tunes die-cast cars from the Richmond race.
Action Performance Inc. already has the cars in production and they'll be available at the driver’s respective souvenir trailers.
“When Dale Earnhardt had Taz on his car, it went very well,” said David Hynes, executive vice president of marketing for Action Performance. “The persona of Dale and Taz have very similar connotations. So, the fans really took to it and the sales reflected that, as it was one of our better programs.
“We've never had seven drivers all in one race taking part in the same promotion. The nice thing about this is we are combining a great American sport, NASCAR, with its favorite cartoon characters. I think that’s really going to be captured under the lights during the Saturday night race at Richmond.
“This program has been so fun to work with, it’s probably the most fun program I've ever been associated. The Monte Carlo folks are great marketers and they have such a great fan following. To marry the fans favorite characters to the cars they already love, this was like putting one right through the uprights, so to speak.
If one needs proof of the popularity of NASCAR, Looney Tunes and Monte Carlo, a recent one-hour show on the QVC Shopping TV Network should be enough. Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Monte Carlo, helped host the live show from Indianapolis and to say the response was looney would be an understatement.
“We set an all-time record for the largest selling show in the history of the network,” Hynes said. “It has never been duplicated, it was off the chart and nothing has ever come close. The power of NASCAR married to entertainment is just phenomenal. It was like a Looney Tune 'Kaboom!'”
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