Joe Nemechek has six top-10s in the No. 01 U.S. Army car this season. Credit: Autostock

Armed services target NASCAR and its fans

If you look at the pit area at a Nextel Cup or Busch Series race, you see a lot of different logos.

There are beer companies, and the two biggest kids on the home-improvement playground are well-represented. Auto parts, consumer products galore and even an Internet poker site are all in evidence, as are delivery services.

Greg Biffle has the National Guard in the Chase. Credit: Austostock

What you'll also see is $30 million of advertising aimed at NASCAR fans by our nation's armed forces.

Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines. ... they're all there, and the reason is simple: NASCAR fans are some of the most patriotic citizens we have, and if you're in the business of recruiting, you go where potential recruits will be.

The Army, which spends about 6 percent of its total advertising budget on racing, is the most heavily invested in NASCAR as a recruiting tool. That 6 percent translates into about $16 million per year, divided among the MB2 Motorsports Chevrolet driven by Joe Nemechek and the interactive mobile marketing display compound run by Keystone Marketing.

Sponsorship of the car owned by Nelson Bowers is a no-brainer. Nemechek and his mother, Martha, are wonderful ambassadors for the Army, with Martha attending most races in replica BDUs (battle dress uniform) and a drill instructor's hat. It's her job to escort the military visitors who wear Army green, and she does it very well.

The mobile marketing compound that helps anchor the midway at most every race features a 25-foot climbing wall, a Humvee simulator and an interactive "patrol" where the potential recruit shoots laser "bullets" at imaginary enemies. There's also a station where visitors can get their names stamped onto replica dog tags, and a trailer that houses other exhibits explained by Army specialists.

All this is cool, but what does the Army get for all the high-tech, high-dollar advertising?

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Plenty. According to a recent article in the Boston Globe, NASCAR is the Army's top program for generating leads for its recruiters. Col. Thomas Nickerson, the director of advertising for the U.S. Army, told the Globe that NASCAR has "a massive fan base that allows us to talk to as many people as we can.

Our goal is to talk to face to face, in influencers, parents and prospects. It makes good business sense."

Plus, Nickerson said, the logo on Nemechek's car generates the equivalent of $25 million in advertising if the Army were to purchase it from the broadcast networks.

Recruiting is the backbone of the Army, since the United States military is all volunteer, and using NASCAR to promote service to one's country is an idea that works well.

One Army recruiter said that NASCAR events were the kind the Army wanted to be part of, as race fans are traditionally very supportive of the nation's defense.

According to the Army, a typical weekend at a NASCAR track yields from 1,000 to 2,500 potential recruits. Extrapolated out over the full NASCAR season, that translates to about 40,000 names. All will be contacted at least once by the recruiting office in their region.

Ashton Lewis is the one and only in the Busch Series driving the No. 25 Marines Ford. Credit: Autostock

Of course, there is an age limit, and the Army generally concentrates on 18-34-year-olds for its recruiting push.

In addition to the Army, the other branches of the military are also using NASCAR as a resource to aid recruiting.

The Air Force, which sponsors the Wood Brothers and driver Ricky Rudd, spends about $5.7 million on its NASCAR program, some 10 percent of its advertising budget.

The Navy, sponsor of the Busch Series car driven by David Stremme, has nearly 5 percent of its advertising budget in the program, to the tune of $4.9 million.

The Marines, which sponsors the Team Rensi machine of driver Ashton Lewis Jr., spends about 5.5 percent of its ad budget on the team. That's about $3.4 million.

Military presence at NASCAR races has always been high, from the pilots who do the flyovers to the Color Guard, and they are by and large welcomed with open arms. That is especially true since 9/11.

NASCAR fans, like few other groups, have embraced the men and women who defend this country at home and abroad, and most of the military personnel at the tracks are amazed at the reception they get from fans and competitors alike.

The Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines recognize that NASCAR fans are patriotic, stand-up people, and they recruit from a base they know is suitable to their needs. That's similar to what all the other companies involved in NASCAR do, when you boil it down.