2-time champion Todd Bodine in search of sponsors

Sponsorship is needed for Todd Bodine to race for
the 2012 season. Credit: Debbie Ross for Skirts and Scuffs
Money is tight for all teams no matter who you are. Todd Bodine, the 2-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion is just one of many drivers plagued by this problem. It’s a bit stunning that a driver like Bodine, who has 21 wins and 117 top-10s, is in this situation.

For the past seven years, Todd Bodine has driven for Germain Racing in their No. 30 truck. Just days before heading to Iowa Speedway in July, Germain was planning on sitting him out of the race due to lack of sponsorship. A deal came together for Germain Racing and Randy Moss Motorsports to collaborate, saving Bodine in the process. Germain Racing has since closed their doors and now Todd Bodine is left hanging.

With the 2012 season soon upon us, Todd Bodine is stuck with just weeks remaining to try to secure a sponsorship deal for the upcoming season.

On the bright side – he does have a ride with the full support of an excellent team. Tom DeLoach, owner of Red Horse Racing, has offered Bodine the No. 11 truck for this season. The ride is contingent on one small thing – sponsorship.

“Tom DeLoach, the owner of the team cannot fund this out of his own pocket,” said Bodine. “If we get the required sponsorship, then we race. Right now, we’ve got a sponsor for Daytona but that’s it.”

Fans are taking notice of Bodine’s tweets seeking sponsorship. Tweets are being sent and shared through the social media platform with messages of support such as this one: “Do you have a business that is looking into sponsoring a nascar team? Sponsor @team_onion. Proven winner” and that is just one example of fans rallying behind “The Onion.”

“That is nice to see, knowing that people have support and sympathy,” Bodine said of the out pouring of fans support. “It’s the state of the economy and it’s the way things are, we just have to deal with it”

Bodine continued, “I was with Germain Racing for seven years and halfway through last season everything was good for this season. We were racing, everything was fine and it gets to the end of the season and they tell me that we are not going to race. That did not leave me a lot of time and options to pursue, being told that late in the game. That was probably one of the hardest things; if they would have told me halfway through the year then I could have worked on it and had time to have some sponsorship in place. I was pretty well caught off guard at the end of the season.”

Heading into the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona, Bodine has a one-race deal (unannounced at this time) and is not feeling the added pressure.

“You cannot put any more pressure on me then I put on myself,” Bodine replied when asked if there is additional pressure to perform because of sponsors watching him. “Just because we need a sponsor does not mean I am going to perform any better. You do 100% every time you go out on the track. It is just another race that you go out there and do the best you can.”

Todd’s wife Janet, who works as his PR rep, is actively pitching him to sponsors and there is interest being shown. It’s a long process with many steps involved including initial contact, pitches, meetings, and proposals; these deals do not occur overnight.

NASCAR can be a hard sell to marketing executives, the suits and ties of a business, but as Bodine said “from ages 6-60 everyone loves NASCAR. It is just hard to make a lot of marketing directors understand that.”

“There are some who get it, they do understand it. Maybe they have been involved in some other way or maybe they are just fans of NASCAR and those are the guys and girls that you got to find for sponsors.”

The puzzle in coming together for Bodine but that one piece is missing, that all important center piece. Todd Bodine just needs that one big sponsor to hop on board.

To contact Todd Bodine follow him on Twitter or head over to his website

Update: Bodine announced on February 3rd that Good Sam is his sponsor for Daytona. 
2-time champion Todd Bodine in search of sponsors 2-time champion Todd Bodine in search of sponsors Reviewed by Unknown on Tuesday, January 31, 2012 Rating: 5