DENSO Launches Into Racing Sponsorship

By Lisa Michler

Earlier this year, DPAM made the decision to become a sponsor of the NHRA. What is NHRA? Founded in 1951, the National Hot Rod Association began as an initiative to get hot rod racers off the streets and onto legal drag strips. Today, NHRA is the world’s largest promoter of professional drag racing. Highlights of DENSO’s involvement with NHRA for 2016 are:

Naming rights to the spring race held in Las Vegas: The “DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals” was held April 1-3, 2016, at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Contingency Sponsorship: In addition to the professional racers you see on television, there are thousands and thousands of racers actively involved in NHRA-sanctioned events held throughout the US and Canada. What is a “contingency sponsorship”? Basically, any of these racers who win a race and have a DENSO spark plugs decal on their race vehicle and have DENSO spark plugs installed on their vehicle, receive a monetary payment from DENSO. For many racers, the contingency program helps fund their racing activity.

Midway Display and Distribution: While there are hundreds of NHRA-sanctioned races that take place throughout the U.S. and Canada, the main “circuit of events” is known as the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. It crisscrosses the U.S. making 24 stops in 21 cities over the course of 10 months. We’ve teamed with a partner that takes a 53-foot tractor-trailer to all 24 events, providing us with display space and distribution opportunities for our spark plugs.

The results of our involvement this year have been outstanding.

• We’ve received nearly $4 million worth of media value (TV, print, radio, etc.). That’s 10 times the return on our investment!
• Engagement on DENSO social media platforms has exploded. The response so far adds up to nearly 3 million impressions; more than 34,000 comments, likes and share; and almost 12,000 entries in our DENSO 2 Win Sweepstakes.
• We’ve established excellent relationships with professional drivers in the Pro Stock category. Greg Anderson, Jason Line, Bo Butner, Allen Johnson all run DENSO spark plugs in their race vehicles. Collectively, these drivers have dominated 17 of the 18 races so far.
• We’ve also established relationships with the Harley team in the Pro Stock Motorcycle category. Eddie Kraewic and Andrew Hines run DENSO spark plugs in their motorcycles. Collectively, the Harley team has won eight of 10 races so far.
• We’ve teamed with professional sportsman and racing legend Dan Fletcher who drives the “winningest” car in NHRA history, a 1969 Chevy Camaro Super Stocker. With 98 national wins under his belt, he’s on a mission to get 100 wins this season.
• DENSO spark plugs have powered 90 first place finishes and 75 runners-up for a total of 165 finish line appearances between the professional classes and the sportsman classes in the Mello Yello and Lucas Oil Series events. And the season isn’t over yet …

With the final races of “Countdown to the Championship” still to come, we’ll soon know the full value of DENSO’s sponsorship. We’re looking forward to a spectacular finish!