Ginn Resorts was featured on Bill Elliott's No. 36 Chevrolet during Speedweeks.

On a race-by-race basis

Sponsors dip their toes in NASCAR waters before diving in

Each team knows, to the penny, how much it costs to take the race car out of the shop, put it in the transporter, drive it to the track, unload it, race it and take it back home.

They know how much it's going to cost to take the team members necessary to do all that to the track and back, feed and house them while they're working and take care of them in the event of an accident.

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They know what they're paying their driver and all the other personnel who are absolutely essential to the everyday running of a race team.

Presenting a single number -- a much smaller number than the $15 million-$20 million it costs for a full-boogie primary these days -- is very useful in attracting a company like Ginn Clubs & Resorts, which wants to get its feet wet before grabbing the flippers and mask and heading out to sea.

At Daytona, it was big news that Bill Elliott would step outside the Evernham Motorsports group to run a Chevrolet for MB2 Motorsports. The sponsor on that car was a first-timer both at the Daytona 500 and in NASCAR.

No longer.

Ginn, based in Celebration, Fla., will be the primary sponsor for Marlin's No. 14 Chevrolet this weekend at Martinsville, with additional races set for July 1 at Daytona International Speedway and Oct. 14 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Rookie driver Kraig Kinser, son of perennial national sprint car champion Steve, will also benefit from the program, as his Morgan-Dollar Chevrolet Silverado will have Ginn Clubs & Resorts sponsorship at Martinsville.

"This year, we sponsored Bill Elliott in the Daytona 500 with MB2 and it was an outstanding experience," said Bobby Ginn, president and CEO of Ginn Clubs & Resorts. "We're looking to grow our motorsports relationship by sponsoring another popular veteran in Sterling Marlin and an upstart rookie in Kraig Kinser. We're excited and feel the MB2 and NASCAR associations are an excellent marketing vehicle for Ginn Clubs & Resorts."

Ginn was pleased with the response it got from Elliott's performance there, and since there are primary spots available on the No. 14, decided to take advantage of the relationship to repeat its sponsorship.

Sterling Marlin's No. 14 will carry Ginn Resorts sponsorship for Martinsville. Credit: Autostock

Jay Frye, CEO and general manager of MB2, echoed similar feelings. "Ginn Clubs & Resorts is growing rapidly and we're proud and excited that they have joined our MB2 team of sponsors. We established a strong relationship with them in Daytona and look to strengthen the partnership with this new primary sponsorship package."

Adding Kinser, one of the more exciting young rookies to come along in quite some time, to the deal in a single weekend is another test of sorts. If Kinser performs well, he could benefit from further Ginn sponsorship down the road.

Such is the way of sponsorship programs these days.

As a privately held resort development and management firm specializing in exclusive leisure lifestyle and vacation destination communities in the United States, the hook here is to get as many people as possible to choose Ginn as their vacation destination.

Travel is part of the NASCAR lifestyle, especially if you work in the business. When you're traveling for leisure, there's usually nothing about racing included. However, if you're a race fan and you want to vacation, racing and travel are part and parcel.

That's what Ginn is counting on with its sponsorship: driving business through driving, as it were.