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The
Next Race is Named after a Fan
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by
Ed
Coombs
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PopUpScript2
About The Author
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Discuss
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With the economy
struggling NASCAR, the
teams and their sponsors
need to find a way to
get the most out of the
sponsorship dollars.
Crown Royal was the
final sponsor of the
IROC racing series. As
NASCAR eased its
unpublished ban on
“liquor sponsors” Crown
Royal became a part time
sponsor on Roush owned
Fords. Then Crown Royal
sponsored the May Cup
event at Richmond in
2006. Titled simply the
Crown Royal 400, the
race was won by crowd
favorite Dale Earnhardt
Jr. My fondest memory
was Earnhardt wondering
how his sponsor,
Budweiser, would react
to him wearing a hat
with Crown Royal on it.
Seriously, Dale Jr. and
the team wore the hate
backwards for many
pictures. One thing I
have learned following
the sport is that
typically NASCAR and the
team sponsors are a
savvy group of marketing
geniuses. They always
seem to find new,
creative ways to market
their product. With that
in mind I want to remind
everyone that Crown
Royal announced in 2006
that the 2007 race was
going to be named after
a fan. Fans were invited
to submit a short essay
with the winner having
the race named after
them. Jim Stewart from
Houma, Louisiana was the
winner and the race was
titled “Crown Royal
Presents the Jim Stewart
400”.
 
In
2008 entrants were
encouraged to write an
essay of 50 words or
less that chronicled
their favorite
responsible Crown Royal
memory. Dan Lowry from
Ohio wrote an essay
about how he was working
in Venezuela and that
seeing the Crown Royal
bottle amongst all the
strange bottles made him
feel closer to home.
That was it… In a
discussion I had with
Lowry a couple of weeks
ago he stated that
Venezuela “he was there
for his job, the hotel
where he stayed was nice
but it still was a
dangerous place, the
kind of place with
broken glass all over.
Different than it is
here.” He has since
traveled the world going
to China and other
countries.
Lowry said that he had
entered the essay back
in June of 2007 and did
not hear anything back
until January of this
year. The top two prizes
were the naming of the
race and a customized
Ford Roush Mustang. The
two top prize winners
(Tim Weiland, Wisconsin)
were sent to Las Vegas
where they were taken
into the air where the
winner of the grand
prize would see his name
in the official logo of
the race. Lowry said, “I
knew going in I had won
a great prize, I never
expected to win anything
more than an Ipod or
something.” Seeing his
name on the logo meant
he won it all and he was
“shocked”. Lowry said
his wife told him he was
the luckiest person in
the world. As the
official race title
bears his name, Lowry’s
moniker will appear on
everything from race
tickets to merchandise
to the trophy itself.
Crown Royal will
continue to promote its
"Be a Champion. Drink
Responsibly." campaign
to adult NASCAR fans via
broadcast Public Service
Announcements, Safe
Rides Home designated
driver initiatives and
other initiatives
designed to reinforce
the importance of
responsible drinking and
decision-making.
 I asked Lowry who he was
a fan of, and he said
that besides McMurray he
was a Matt Kenseth fan
(or any other Roush
Ford). Lowry said that
he had never been to a
NASCAR race until this
season when he went to
the Las Vegas Motor
Speedway and watched the
race from atop Jamie
McMurray’s pit box. He
said it was amongst the
coolest things he had
ever done. Lowry said
he is a bit nervous
about having all eyes on
him prior to the race
and said that Crown
Royal and everyone
associated with this
prize have treated him
like royalty. He said
that there will be about
30 of his friends up in
the Commonwealth
Grandstands that will be
celebrating his prize.
You can
contact Ed at
coombse@speedwaymedia.com
The opinions expressed
on this site are not necessarily those of the publisher. All
comments other than website related problems need to be directed to
the author. Copyright 2000-2008 SpeedwayMedia.com.
More by
this author:
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