10 of racing’s most bizarre sponsors, ranked

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Racing costs a ton of money, especially at its highest level. Consider, for example, the nine-figure budget required to field a Formula 1 car. Sponsors are one of the few things that help defray the cost of racing, and a sticker—any sticker—on the car means more money in the war chest.

Since beggars can’t be choosers, race teams often find themselves hitched to some truly bizarre sponsors. We compiled a countdown of our ten favorites. Here’s to the TV channels, pharmaceutical drugs, recording artists, and corporate sugar daddies who propped up teams in their time of need. They may have gotten the exposure, and the race teams may have enjoyed the funding, but we’re the true beneficiaries here.

Is there a weird sponsorship that we missed? Ever had a questionable sticker on your quarter panel? Let us know in the comments below.

10. ABBA

Slim Borgudd leads a very interesting life. He was the session drummer for Swedish supergroup ABBA and a mid-pack Formula 1 driver for two seasons in the early-1980s.

After competing in lower formula ranks for a number of years, Borgudd scored a ride with the ATS Formula 1 team in 1981. Borgudd didn’t have cash sponsors, so he asked his band for permission to use its logo on his car to garner publicity. The gambit worked and Borgudd secured a sponsorship with Steinbock, a forklift manufacturer, later in the season. Money! Money! Money!

9. Taylor Swift

T-Swift’s discography doesn’t exactly elicit visions of race cars and high speed. It turns out the country-singer-turned-pop star has adorned three cars racing at the top of American motorsport.

The first instance of a Swift sponsorship was back in 2012. In the NASCAR race at Kansas Speedway, Juan Pablo Montoya’s Chevy was a rolling billboard for Swift’s Red album. Then, in 2015, Tony Kanaan’s IndyCar promoted Swift’s upcoming 1989 tour at the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix. Two years later, Courtney Force had album art from Reputation plastered all over her NHRA Funny Car.

Promoting musicians on race cars is nothing new, especially when record labels are involved. Interscope sponsored an entry in the CART series in 1979, Big Machine sponsorship is a staple in stock car racing, and Richard Petty scored his 200th win in NASCAR driving for Curb Racing.

8. Car-toons

NASCAR’s popularity skyrocketed in the 1990s and early 2000s. Growth was exponential and plenty of strange suitors came calling with exposure on their minds. Kid’s television channel Cartoon Network sponsored a couple of cars in the late-90s and each paint scheme came replete with the network’s cast of characters and wacky number fonts.

Then, in 2001, Looney Tunes forked over some dough to splash its name across the side of five NASCAR Chevrolet Monte Carlos. Naturally, Jeff Gordon, NASCAR’s biggest star at the time, was paired with Bugs Bunny.

7. Boudreaux’s Butt Paste

Speaking of wise cracks, in 2010, this diaper rash cream sponsorship appeared on a backmarker in the NASCAR field.

6. Durex

During the 1976 season, prophylactic maker Durex sponsored Surtees, a mid-pack Formula 1 team. Formula 1 racing was wildly dangerous in the 1970s, so using them to promote safe sex was—and still is—a bit ironic.

That season, the BBC refused to cover any race with the Durex car in the field. In his autobiography, race commentator Murray Walker recalled: “As far as the BBC was concerned a visible Durex logo was totally unacceptable for family viewing.”

Surtees refused to remove the logo when requested by the BBC. The broadcaster eventually caved before the final round at Suzuka so the British people could watch fellow countryman James Hunt win the championship.

5. Viagra

NASCAR great Mark Martin jumped from long-time sponsor Valvoline to Viagra for the 2001 season. The sponsorship deal was rumored to be $15 million per year—one of the largest at the time. Martin’s fans were, understandably, not thrilled with the prospect of wearing merch with the drug’s logo.

Even though it was the butt of many jokes, the Viagra car probably saved lives. Martin insisted that any Viagra ad spots he was featured in advocate for men’s health issues like early prostate cancer screening. In addition to the ads, parent company Pfizer set up a medical tent at every cup race that screened fans for common medical conditions such as high cholesterol, diabetes, depression, and hypertension.

4. Penthouse

In 1977, the BBC seemingly forgot about their stance on the Durex F1 car from the year prior. That year, the Hesketh 308E had a way more salacious livery that the BBC had no problems broadcasting for the entire season. Sponsored by adult magazine Penthouse and rolling paper maker Rizla, the car prominently featured a scantily clad woman holding a Rizla package. Hesketh had a subpar year, with a best finish of seventh. In 1978, the team switched to a less controversial Olympus camera sponsorship before folding mid-season.

3. Good Smile (Anime)

German cars sporting elaborate Japanese cartoon liveries have been serious contenders in touring car races. Since 2008, anime figurine maker Good Smile has fielded a team in the GT300 class of Japan’s Super GT series every year. The team won the series title in 2012 with their BMW Z4.

2. Dianetics

Dianetics is a self-help book penned by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and serves as one of the foundational documents for the religion. Before Scientology was thrust into the public spotlight, they prominently displayed the Dianetics logo on a number of race cars throughout the 1980s.

The group started out by sponsoring endurance racers. In 1987 a Spice SE86C with a giant Dianetique (French for Dianetics) logo on the nose won its class (Group C2) at Le Mans. The company then tried to sponsor Mario Andretti’s ride for the 1988 GTE World Challenge of Tampa. Andretti, a devout Catholic, discovered what Scientology was before the start of the race and demanded that the logos be removed.

For the 1988 Indy 500, Dianetics decals adorned the Vince Granatelli Racing Lola/Cosworth driven by Roberto Guerrero. It crashed out in turn two, having failed to complete a single lap. The team ran with the Dianetics livery for a few more races, but by mid-June, it had been removed from the car.

The story goes that members of the religion tried to “audit”—a rigorous interrogation process that claims to cure the receiver of any mental hang-ups—Guerrero after he spun in qualifying for the Milwaukee race. This made team owner Granatelli uncomfortable, so he ditched the $1.5 million-per-race deal.

1. Wii Fit

If you were a gamer in the Aughts, you probably stood in line for hours to score a Nintendo Wii. At the time, Nintendo was trying to sell its console to people who normally wouldn’t play video games. Wii Fit was part of Nintendo’s strategy to attract the normies. The game was a personal fitness tracker that had users do yoga and body-weight exercises using a balance board accessory that was included in your purchase of a copy of the Wii Fit game.

Nintendo thought it would be a good idea to brand Alex Lloyd’s entry into the 2008 Indianapolis 500 with the Wii Fit logo. Loyd didn’t do so hot that year, putting the car into the wall in the closing stages of the race—not a strong endorsement for the game.

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Via Imola