Program To Feature Team Concept Among Drivers
by Kari Shear-Carlson and Gregg Paul
The ARCA Midwest Tour presented by Scag Power Equipment and Lester Buildings prides itself on the development of the Touring Stars bonus program. This is an incentive for those drivers committed to running an entire season. This program has been key to the growth and development of the series and has evolved since the inception of the Midwest Tour in 2007.
The Touring Stars program is unique to and what separates the Midwest Tour from other Super Late Model short track touring series in the country. The idea behind the program is to create the marketing tools necessary to put the fans in the stands. It builds a personal connection with the current, hottest stars making them icon-worthy and more marketable.
The 2013 Touring Stars program will be taking it to a whole new level. With the addition of new sponsors and a new approach to the program, Touring Stars will have a personal sponsor-team relationship. This will create a brand identity between the teams and the sponsors. This broadens the marketing opportunities as fans not only connect with their favorite drivers, but now with the products they represent.
Steve Einhaus, Vice President of the ARCA Midwest Tour, is excited for what this new program will bring.
“We are all very proud of our Touring Star Program. It’s a program you just don’t see anymore and it has provided a great amount of assistance to our teams. With the addition of the new sponsors, it steps the program up another notch and will not only bring a lot of value to the teams, but it will give all of them a very professional look to go along with their popularity at our events. We look forward to building our relationship with everyone involved and I’m certain the teams are very thankful to be a part of it.”
i-gogs Sunglasses, Spiked Island Adult Lemonade along with DOC 360 have teamed up with the ARCA Midwest Tour as the sponsors for this new Touring Stars program format. Each one is excited about this unique approach and to have their products represented by some of the best drivers in the country along with the marketing opportunities it provides.
“DOC 360 and Vita Ice decided to get involved with the ARCA Midwest Tour because we really felt it gave us a good opportunity to reach our core demographics throughout the Midwest. It is a great way to get our products and brands out in front of thousands of fans during key summer months,” said Tim Preston, Director of Business Development for Pepsi-Cola of Madison.
Laura Roszak, Social Media Director with the King Juice Company, explained that their involvement did not strictly come from marketing opportunities alone. “We decided to get involved with the ARCA Midwest Tour because we are fans of racing. Our owner, Tim Kezman, used to race in the old ASA series. We also believe this is a great way to reach and introduce Spiked Island Adult Lemonade to our customers.”
Rick Rusch of i-gogs Sunglasses understands how being a part of the program will be a win-win for everyone involved. “ARCAMT is a great fit for i-gogs Sunglasses. The drivers are the focus of every racing fan’s interest. With the brand exposure we gain through our sponsorship of the ARCAMT, we’re confident ARCAMT fans will support our brand when shopping at our retail partners. With the Touring Stars program, i-gogs Sunglasses is able to create a connection to the fans through some of ARCAMT’s very best drivers. Plus we look forward to the feedback the Touring Stars drivers provide us.”
“Our goal is to do everything we can to support our retail partners with great products, terrific prices and excellent quality. On top of that we know that ARCAMT fans shop our retail partners’ stores,” added Rusch.
The sponsors will make it easy and cost-effective for each of the Touring Star teams to both enjoy and professionally represent their products at each event.
The fourteen drivers in the Touring Stars program were divided among the sponsors to form sponsored teams. In addition to their specific brand products, sponsors will outfit the teams with the following:
Fully designed crew shirts
Driver team polo shirts
All crew members outfitted with new hats
Ten pairs of Ansell Gloves
500 hero cards
$100 to the highest finishing team driver.
Each team was allowed to add 2 of their major sponsors to the team outfits.
The teams are as follows:
Team I-GOGS Sunglasses
(Entire team outfitted in new i-gogs Sunglasses)
Andrew Morrissey
Dan Fredrickson
Jeff Storm
Jonathan Eilen
Rich Bickle
Team DOC 360 and Team Vita Ice
Vita-Ice is a new, refreshing, enhanced water from Wis-pak. The team was divided in order to represent both products.
(Each team will receive a full supply of DOC 360 and Vita Ice at each event)
DOC 360
Nathan Haseleu
Chris Wimmer
Jason Weinkauf
Vita Ice
Skylar Holzhausen
Jeremy Miller
Team Spiked Island
(Each team will receive a full supply of Calypso Lemonade and Spiked Island Adult Lemonade at each event)
Cardell Potter
James Swan
Chris Weinkauf
Jacob Goede
Be sure to follow the ARCA Midwest Tour on Facebook (midwesttour) and Twitter (@midwesttour).
To learn more about the Automobile Racing Club of America Midwest Tour, log on toarcamidwesttour.com. For questions call the ARCA Midwest Tour office at (262) 729-4111 or Tim Olson at (612) 327-5831 or Steve Einhaus (630) 212-6022 at or e-mail Tim Olson at tim@arcamidwesttour.comor Steve Einhaus at steve@arcamidwesttour.com.
The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is among the leading auto racing sanctioning bodies in the country. Founded in 1953 by John and Mildred Marcum, the organization administers more than 100 events each year in multiple racing series, including the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, the ARCA/CRA Super Series, the ARCA Truck Series and the ARCA Midwest Tour, plus weekly racing at Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways.
