Stockcar Racing: Who Quenches the Ongoing Thirst for Dollars?

No question about it, stockcar racing is the thirstiest, hungriest and most ravenous consumer of money and machinery than any other sport. Yes, there are those that say big time stockcar racing is not a sport - but more like a game played with large and expensive pieces. Regardless of its said composition, NASCAR is the largest "sports" business in the USA.

Every year, for the last 50 years, since the birth of NASCAR, the cost of operating a NASCAR upper series race team has out paced the country's rate of inflation by a wide margin.

Essentially, only two groups fuel the tanks - fans and sponsors. Collectively, the fans can be thanked for their loyal and growing support. The larger lump sums of operating capital come from the nations industries and businesses in the form of sponsorship and advertising dollars. Sponsors are often much more clearly defined and the product of their financial input is viewed and enjoyed by millions of fans.

Another fast growing marvel, the Internet, allows us to reach the very gates of these generous organizations and peer in at their operations and wares.

The following is a list of motorsports sponsors that can be observed via the Internet. Several, still in business, past sponsors are included as they must be recognized for the part they played in helping stockcar racing achieve such enormous popularity. A few listings may not be familiar to some as being associated with motorsports sponsorship; however, local distributors, dealers and service centers representing these companies have provided the needed resourses to an untold number of racing programs throughout the nation.

Accu-Turn Industries
AC Delco
ACE Tickets
Active Trucking Services Inc
Advance Auto Parts
Airborn Coatings
ALLPosters
ALLTEL
ALUMAX
American General Finance
American Racing Wheels
Ameritech
AMOCO
Aquafresh
Autolite Spark Plugs
Auto Meter Competition Instruments
Auto Zone
Bank One Corporation
Barbasol Shaving Products - Pfizer
Bayer Aspirin
Bell Helmets
BellSouth
Big O Tires
Bilstein Shock Absorbers
Bojangles
Borg-Warner Automotive
Bowes Seal Fast Corporation
Bosch Corporation
Bradford White
Briggs & Stratton
Bryant Heating & Cooling
Budget Rent-A-Car
Budweiser
Buick Division of GM
Bully Hill Vineyards
Burger King
Buss Fuses - Cooper Bussmann Inc
Call N Carry
Canon Incorporated
Carney Plastics Inc
Carquest Auto Parts
Cartoon Network
Castrol GTX Motor Oil
Caterpillar
Cellular One
ChannelLock Inc
Cheerio's
Cheez-it
Chevrolet Division of GM
Chrysler Corporation
Cintas Corporation
Circuit City
CITGO
Clean Shower
Clevite 77
Coca Cola
Commander Aircraft Company
Competition Cams
Coors Brewing Company
Crane Cams
Cummins Engines
Dana Corporation - Automotive Systems
DAYCO Industrial Products
Deere & Company - John Deere
Dentyne Division of Warner-Lambert
Detroit Gasket - Indian Head Industries
DeWALT Tools
Diabetes Home Care
Diehard Battery
Dirt Devil
Ditch Witch
Domino's Pizza
Dr Pepper
Dunlop Tire Corporation
Dupont finishes
Dura Lube Products Corporation
Duracell Battery
Earl's Performance Products
Edelbrock Performance Products
Energizer - Eveready Battery Co
Exide Batteries
Exxon
FansCanRace
Featherlite Trailers
Federal-Mogul
Federated Auto Parts
FelPro Inc
FINA Petroleum
Fingerhut
First Union
Firestone Tire
Fleetwood Enterprises Inc
Fluidampr - VIBRATECH Engineered Motion Damping Products
Food City
Food Lion
Ford Credit
Ford Motor Company
Gatorade
General Mills
Gillette Company
Glenora Wine Cellars
Glidden Paints
GM Goodwrench
GMC Trucks
Goodyear Tire Company
Gould Pumps
Hanes
Hardee's
Heilig-Meyers
Heinz 57
Holley Performance Products
Hollywood Video
Home Depot
Hoosier Tire Company
Hooters
Hotwheels - Mattel Inc
Husky Corporation
Interstate Batteries
Invinca-Shield Inc
Irving Oil Company
Jasper Engines
JE Pistons
JESEL Shaft Rocker Arm Systems
Jiffy Lube International
Jimmy Dean Meat Products
John Deere - Deere & Company
Johnson Controls Inc
J-MAR Express
K-Mart
KD Kanopy
Kellogg's Corn Flakes
Kemmler Systems Inc
Kendall Motor Oil
Kingsford Division of Clorox Company
Kleenex Division of Kimberly-Clark
Kodak Corporation
KONI Shock Absorbers
KT's Motorsports
LCI International
Lear Corporation
Lipton Tea
Loctite Corporation
Lowes
Lucent Technologies
Lucky Dog Phone Company
MAC Tools
Mallory
Manheim Auctions
Mark III Industries
MasterBuilt
MATCO Tools
Mayflower
MBNA
McDonald's
Mead Corporation
Meijer
Melling Tool Company
Mello Yello
MCI
MGM Brakes - Indian Head Industries
Michelin
Miller Brewing Company
M & M - Skittles
Mobile
Monroe/Walker - Tenneco Automotive
Moroso Performance Products
Mossy Oak
Motorcrafts
Motorola
MSD Motorsport Direct
MotorTrax Interactive
NAPA Auto Parts
NYNEX Yellow Pages
Oakwood Homes
Oldsmobile Division of GM
Olive Garden
Opryland USA
ORKIN Commercial Pest Control
Owens-Corning
Panasonic
Parts Plus
PayChex
Pedigree Animal Food
Pennzoil
Pepsi Cola
Perfect Circle
Petron Plus Inc
Phillips Consumer Electronics
Phillips 66 Petroleum Company
Planters Peanuts
Plasti-Kote Spray Paints
Polaris Industries
Pontiac Division of GM
Power Team
Prestone
Primestar
Procter & Gamble
Prolong Super Lubricants
Purolator Filters
Quaker State Oil
QVC Shopping Network
Ralphs Grocery Company
Ralston Purina Company
Raybestos
RCA
Realtree
Red Dog - Plank Road Brewery
Red Line Oil
Red Lobster
Remington Arms Company
Richfood Holdings Inc
RIDGID - Ridge Tool Company
R J Reynolds
RPM Performance
Safety Kleen
Sara Lee Products
Save Mart
Scotch 3M
SDRC - Structural Dynamics Research Corp
Sears Auto Centers
Service Merchandise
Shell Oil Products Company
Shoney's
Siemens
Simpson Race Products
SKF Group
Skoal
Slick 50
Slim Jim
Smirnoff Ice
SNAP ON Tools
Sonic Drive Inns
SPAM Division of Hormel
Spears Manufacturing Company
Split Fire
Spree
Square D
Stant Automotive Parts
State Fair Corn Dogs
Stetson - John B Stetson Co
Stockcar Racing Experience
STP
SUNOCO
Super 8 Motels
Target
TEXACO
Textile Lease
Three Stooges Beer
Ticket Warehouse
Tide
TOTAL Corporation
Track Gear Inc
Transouth
True Value Hardware
Tultex Corporation
Turtle Wax
TV Guide
Tyson Foods
Uniden America Corporation
UNIROYAL Tire
Unocal 76
USAir
Valspar Paints and Finishes
Valvoline
Whelen Engineering
Whirlpool Appliances
Winn-Dixie Stores
Winnebago Industries
WISECO Piston Inc
WIX Filters
Wrangler
Zippo
Zollner Pistons