Tell me about it.

Ric – most sponsorship agreements will have provisions in them that could allow for immediate termination of the agreement if an owner/driver (and some crew chiefs) are seen publicly using/consuming competing products. There are similar provisions for team members out in team attire, but not usually as stringent. For example, I have not seen a Budweiser agreement in a few years, but it used to say that if you were publicly consuming a malted beverage, it must be an A-B malted beverage.

Having said that however, regardless of contract provisions, I am a firm believer in BUYING from my sponsors. A lot of team members take the approach that “I will use it if they GIVE it to me.” The sponsor makes my paycheck possible and I need to reciprocate.

Mike – there are several factors at play regarding which trailers show up at the events. But like TC/Journo said, a big variable is if they think they can make money or not. People involved in the decision are not only the teams/sponsors, but especially companies like Motorsports Authentics. They hold the licensing rights to make/distribute the items. But just so you know, while the merchandise is expenensive at the track, most of those trailers do not make money on a weekly basis. It costs a lot of money to operate those. Parking fees at the track, fuel to get up/down the road, lodging, food, salaries, sales tax, etc. The sponsors want the exposure of their trailer being at the track so they will often subsidize the trailer.

Like Journo said, wear comfortable shoes. It’s cool to walk around the entire track and see the racing from different perspectives — but it’s a hike.

It looks like you’re going to have great weather this weekend, not too hot. Have a great time! It’s a fun race to watch despite what all the anti-road-course people say.