October 2nd, 2008 
T.C. The race is over, and you’re team has just picked up that ever important win after a hard fought day. Your driver has done his burnout and his polish victory lap, pulled into victory lane, and has gotten his Gatorade bath. After he gets his TV and radio interview, its time to pack the hauler and head to the house… Nope, not so fast.
It’s hat dance time.
I’m sure you’ve seen it. Whether you have been at the race live, or watched it on TV. Part of the victory lane activities is the traditional hat dance. The whole team gathers around the driver and the trophy and proceeds to take photo after photo, changing hats each time. Each hat represents a NASCAR sponsor, track sponsor, or team sponsor. There are Goodyear hats, Sunoco hats, series hats, sponsor hats, track hats… You get the picture.
The amazing cornucopia of hats that are ripped through during this chaotic few minutes would make even the Mad Hatter crazy. And its all done to show everyone involved a little love. Each entity represented in the hat dance will receive one or multiple versions of the photo for their records. They can and have been used in posters, advertisements, sponsor materials, and for office decoration. These photos let everyone know that your company was part of a winning effort.
Behind all this craziness are the PR and sponsor relations people. They come from the hauler immediately following the race with large duffle bags and/or boxes full of hats. Once you arrive in victory lane they immediately begin throwing hats at you. The tossing is accompanied with shouts of “Who doesn’t have the [insert sponsor here] hat?!” These folks are always easy to spot in the photos, because you’ll see them in the back of the shot, not wearing a hat, looking awkward and out of place.
The best part about the hat dance, at least for me, is the fact that your entire team is forever immortalized in those victory lane photos. Whenever somebody looks back at that particular event, there will be your team, celebrating together, wearing ridiculous looking hats.
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The hat dance we see today sure seems more chaotic than years ago. Bill Broderick really used to keep things orderly. And his hair, my goodness…
But the question is….what do you do with all those hats after the hat dance?? Do the team members have like Closets full o hats? Or do the sponsors take em back for next time?
Amy – Sponsors do not take the hats back after the dance. They bring new hats for every win. In regards to the crew guys, some keep them, others give them away. There are always fans outside victory lane who are trying to get a free hat.
In my own case, I’ve kept some and given some away. The manufacturer hats and the sponsor hats I don’t really care about. I usually keep the race hat and series hat just to have a token from the win.
Is there a place to buy a hat that was worn during a hat dance?Big Fan.