How to Get Sponsored by VP Racing Fuels

VP Racing Fuels shows up at almost every kind of race, so racers tend to assume it has a bottomless sponsorship budget. Ben Dolan, VP's vice president of marketing, says that's one of the first things to get over. "There's a perception probably that we're a bigger company than we are," he told me on Meet the Sponsors. Every dollar he spends on a racer competes with his other marketing, and he knows what that marketing returns: "I can get say eight to 12 X return on ad spend just about anything else I do in marketing." To earn a spot, your program has to compete with that. ▶ Watch Ben Dolan explain this

Know how VP is organized

Bruce Hendel, VP's vice president of North American sales, estimates the company works with "probably a hundred plus" teams across the regional and national levels. At the national level, VP leans toward series deals over individual teams, and those decisions go through Dolan or Hendel. Most racers will start at the regional level, where four regional managers each decide whether their budget is best spent on "a billboard, whether they're gonna sponsor a racetrack, whether they're gonna sponsor a racer." ▶ See the full episode

VP also sells far more than race fuel: lubricants, coolants, additives, small-engine fuels and branded gas stations. That gives you more ways in. Dolan said at my Motorsports Sponsorship Summit that "a lot of people still only know us for fuel," so racers who spread the word about the rest of the line add real value. ▶ Watch Dolan on the Summit panel

Build the relationship first

Both men say a cold pitch almost never works. "It's unusual that we would ever sponsor someone that we don't have a relationship with," Dolan said. "I don't think it's ever happened that at the corporate level we've sponsored someone that just out of the blue pitched us something that we've never heard of them before." VP's people are at the races every weekend, so racers who stand out get noticed: "We're gonna notice you and we're either going to approach you or we're going to have some dialogue going already." ▶ Watch the clip

That's how Dystany Spurlock, an NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle racer, finally landed VP after trying for years. She met VP's marketing person at a PDRA race first. "I introduced myself. I told them who I was. I built that relationship. And then we got the deck together and sent it over. And now they're on board," she said at my Drag Racing Sponsorship Summit. Her deal started as product. "I've been trying to get VP as a sponsorship for the past 10 years and we finally got them." ▶ Watch Dystany Spurlock tell the story

Don't ambush them at a trade show

Hendel is blunt about racers who work the SEMA and PRI aisles handing out decks. "I know they're walking around handing that same proposal to a hundred different people, okay? Not very personal," he said. "I prefer getting a phone call. Hey, I'm going to be at SEMA. The team's going to be at SEMA. We'd really like to set up an appointment and maybe meet with you." Dolan agreed, noting he gets "no less than five e-mail pitches a week" and a LinkedIn request about every day. "It's got to be either start with a relationship or start with a phone call." ▶ Watch Hendel and Dolan on this

Timing matters too. "Our budgets typically get set before the first of the year," Hendel said. "You're looking to kind of make those decisions in the fall of the year before." ▶ See the full episode Dolan wants the relationship in place before fall, then a proposal "by November. We already know what we're doing in December or January." ▶ Watch the Motocross Summit session

Sell product, not a logo

"We're in the business for 46 years. So another logo on another vehicle doesn't move the needle," Hendel said. What helps is a connection "that would help us get product into on the shelf somewhere." Dolan's version is about content that moves a buyer closer to a purchase. VP gets plenty of awareness already. "What's harder to get is that consideration and decision level content," he said: "how to videos, technical videos, technical data, testimonials, usage content." ▶ See the full episode

His favorite example is an athlete who uses VP products in everyday life, from his snowmobile to cleaning his car. "He just lives the brand," Dolan said. "It seems more organic and authentic." VP measures all of this itself with tracking software, and a post that's entirely about VP scores far higher than a logo in the background. Some racers miss that: "I think they perceive that they've delivered more value than they have." ▶ See the full episode

Put specific deliverables in your proposal, then go past them

Once a deck starts the conversation, Dolan wants a proposal with numbers in it: how often you'll post, what content you'll create, how many videos across which products. "I really need to see specific measurable," he said. He's tired of renewals where the racer's only answer is that VP never asked for anything. "I'm expecting them to bring the opportunity to us throughout the season to add additional value, not wait for a phone call." ▶ Watch the clip

The extras are what keep VP coming back. Looking back at a season, Dolan found that VP's best-performing content was all unplanned. "What's really important is not the minimum things that are in the contract... but it's all the other things that they do to add value that are actually the gravy that keeps us coming back year after year." ▶ Watch Dolan on the Summit panel Expect to start small, too. "It's a whole lot easier to dip our toe in the water with some product deals and let's see if we are good partners for each other," he said. ▶ See the full episode

And show you're serious. Dolan's final advice at my Motocross Sponsorship Summit: show "that it's your focus, not your hobby." ▶ Watch the Motocross Summit session

Your checklist for VP Racing Fuels

• Meet VP's people at the track or through a regional manager before you send anything.
• Call ahead to book a meeting at SEMA or PRI instead of handing out decks in the aisle.
• Have the relationship going before fall and your proposal in by November.
• Offer how-to, technical and testimonial content, not just logo placement.
• Look beyond race fuel: lubricants, coolants, additives and small-engine fuels.
• Write specific, measurable deliverables into your proposal, then bring extra ideas all season.
• Expect a product deal first, and treat it as a tryout.