Character paint schemes, merchandise sales help make Kansas weekend a hit
SHOP: SpongeBob SquarePants 400 gear
RELATED: See the SpongeBob SquarePants character-inspired paint schemes
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The SpongeBob SquarePants 400.
When Nickelodeon announced in March that it would be sponsoring the Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway on May 9 and naming the event after its highest rated series ever, chances are you either chuckled, scratched your head, had your eyes light up or some combination of the three.
Now that we’ve had a chance to soak up all of the Bikini Bottom goodness like a sponge, it’s time to assess how it all went down.
In a word: swimmingly.
PHOTOS: Best images from the SpongeBob SquarePants 400
“Between the race teams, NASCAR.com and the social media feeds; the great thing about social media is you can instantly see what people are thinking. I think some of the purists are like ‘This is stupid,’ but you’re always going to get that. I’d say like 90 percent of the comments have been like ‘This is the coolest thing; I’m going to watch,'” said Anthony DiCosmo, VP of Sports Marketing for Nickelodeon.
“Even Nickelodeon, all of the social media, we’ve taken over. And the kids are saying ‘Oh, I dream to drive this car.’ And they’re going to be meeting these drivers for the first time inside the Nickelodeon world, outside of the context of traditional racing, which hopefully will get them to be like, ‘Wow, this is kind of cool, let me find out more.’
“I think when you look at the collective social chatter that you’ll see around this race and what the pulse point is … I think you’re going to see a significant spike (in a younger audience).”
That younger audience came out in full force on Saturday, packing the stands and jockeying for position during pre-race driver introductions just to get a glimpse of the SpongeBob and Patrick Star mascots that were on hand. Such full force all weekend, in fact, that all of the SpongeBob merchandise at Kansas Speedway sold out — on Friday.
While Mr. SquarePants and Mr. Star’s likenesses were patrolling the infield, the real-life Squidward Tentacles — SpongeBob’s surly, clarinet-playing neighbor, in case you haven’t seen the show — was on hand as a race ambassador.
“I love it” Rodger Bumpass said, in full Squidward intonation. “I’m really jazzed about being here. It’s backstage. It really is. An average person doesn’t get that opportunity. Whenever I get to work on a movie, you go on the lots; even though there’s nothing going on, there’s sound stages, there’s a sense of history, there’s a sense of what’s been done here and … (NASCAR) is just eye-opening and wonderful.”
It’s been a great experience for Bumpass – though he felt snubbed that another character, “Plankton,” is painted on two cars to his one, on Casey Mears‘ No. 13 — and the SpongeBob immersion is obvious from the six total cars this weekend sporting paint schemes (in both the Sprint Cup and Camping World truck Series) and nearly the entire speedway all “SquarePants’ed-out.”
Clearly, “SpongeBob SquarePants” is a cartoon that transcends Saturday mornings and can carry a major sporting event – and carry it well. It’s because the show, which has seen a catalogue of 189 episodes and two feature-length films, isn’t just for kids.
“I’m hearing a lot of parents say that this is the one cartoon show that they’ll gladly sit and watch with their kids. Funny is funny, for any age. There’s no age limit for (Spongebob),” Bumpass said. “You get the people that are watching SpongeBob that are getting into teens; to connect them with this, I think it’s a great transition into the motorsports world.”
One of the most prevalent storylines from early SpongeBob episodes dealt with him trying — and failing spectacularly over and over again — to get his boating license.
So, how would SpongeBob fare if he took his boat to a NASCAR track?
“I was telling the drivers, ‘If you really want to go fast, do what I do,’ ” Bumpass said. “Pretend that SpongeBob is behind you taking his boating exam … again. You will fly, believe me.”