KIC Offers Immediate Super National Event Hospitality Opportunity

Event Summary –

The 14th annual SuperKarts USA Super National karting event will once again be held November 17-21, 2010 at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. There are a number of important milestones surrounding this event. While this is a single marquee event that caps a national series for the SKUSA race organization, the Super National has become a free-standing must attend competition that draws both individual racers and factory sponsored competitors from North America, Central and South America, Western Europe, and the Caribbean. According to the registration list for this year, there are competitors from as far away as New Zealand.

The Facility:

For a temporary sprint course, the Rio hotel back parking lot has played host to the Super National for a number of years. The layered pits allow for a perfect wrap-around effect and are maxed out in terms of total square footage. The track is fast, wide and long with a straightaway over 1000 feet in length. It is important to note that the Super National course is the only temporary track in the US to receive CIK/FIA international sanctioning. This means competitors from around the world can compete with their home licenses on this course without any penalty. With the beautiful Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino shadowing over the venue, attendees have a world class property with 4 star accommodations, gourmet dining, great entertainment and access to the famous Las Vegas strip. It is important to remember that the SKUSA Super National is the only race scheduled in the heart of a major resort city in North America. Typically, karting events are hosted at remote tracks in rural markets with limited non-competition amenities and little attraction for casual spectators. The Super National race course can be seen from the Rio Hotel tower, two towers at Caesars and a number of other mega resort properties.

The Competitors:

Because this event is scheduled as the last major competition at the end of the year and it is beyond the open wheeled professional series, the SKUSA Super National draws professional drivers from a number of national series like the IRL and Formula 1. The event also has the ability to attract competitors from other forms of motorsports such as competitive cycling, drag racing, stock cars and oval racing. Top names are invited through manufacturer sponsorship. Names like Indy Champion Dan Weldon and Ed Carpenter have returned time and time again to compete amongst the country’s best. Last year 7-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher came out of retirement to race as did Nelson Pique Jr. A team of Brazilian Formula drivers made the trip north and brought a passion to the track not often seen here in the US. The power of the SKUSA Super National has bucked the current economic climate with a record-setting registration number of 485 competitors. This is more than 50 additional racers over last year and with an average competitive budget per driver of between $4 and $5k for the 5 days. This is a significant karting competition. The registration fee which includes tires, oil and fuel for the actual competition is $1500.00 per racer.

The demographics behind these competitors offer a different look than just the typical race enthusiast who would mortgage their home to race. These individuals typically compete in national series and travel to between 10 and 20 events annually. The average annual budget to remain in the middle of the competitive pack is around $60k. With these types of figures, parents who support their children in this sport come from a much higher revenue category. For corporate sponsors, it is not a far stretch to realize that many of the dollars behind these young competitors comes from corporate decision makers who have the discretionary income to commit to this type of program for multiple years. Unlike other types of grassroots motorsports, one visit to the pits at the Super National will have you quickly realize that besides the actual kart, the investment in the transport, dedicated mechanics, spare custom built engines and the pit structures themselves are equivalent to those seen at a NASCAR or Indy event. Half a million dollar haulers used to deliver a dozen karts to a competition would be considered overkill for most amateur competitions but not here. As in the past, the 2010 event will draw a number of nationally recognized competitors such as former Indy 500 Champion Dan Weldon and others. The announcements will come in the next 48 hours.

The Promotional Opportunity – A KIC Partnership

The Kart Industry Council has a 37 year history behind it and is going through an extreme makeover to address a new set of primary objectives that embraces a broader scope of performance karting. Part of the new launch is to get out face-to-face within the karting community to meet with manufacturers, distributors, importers, dealers and track owners to talk about the business-to-business needs.

Our objective is to establish educational resources to help businesses within the karting community survive the economic challenges, flourish through the adoption of new sales and marketing technologies and to raise the bar of business standards. Another important role for the new KIC is to develop a new consumer marketing campaign to promote karting to new introductory enthusiasts. Using non-traditional media outlets to promote partnerships with members where we will drive interested traffic to introductory karting experiences throughout the country. Whether it is an indoor karting experience, a dirt oval race or a sprint course, we need to grow the sport. The KIC Showcase and Pavilion which has been designed specifically for the space in the Vendor Row at the SKUSA Super National and incorporates a new purpose-built Performance Garage Shelter mixed with traditional canopies to create an information and hospitality center in a 20x30 space. The location is key as the observation patio provides a comfortable view of a number of turns on the track. The concept is to showcase a number of members in the main shelter and to provide limited access to the patio for invited guests of the participating members as well as potential KIC members. Guests will be able to sit and watch the competition while talking about membership opportunities as well as member offerings. The expense behind this pavilion is being divided up amongst the sponsors.

Specifics:

1.Your $1500 sponsorship will allow us to deliver a full hospitality menu for Business guests

2.Produce a 14ft wide by 8ft high banner for the side of the shelter with all the sponsor logos and branding messaging that will face the highest traffic row.

3.Providing a high speed WiMax wireless Internet access point for guests (password controlled) and the ability to receive the live streaming audio broadcast from the announcer booth.

4.1 year KIC membership

5.A display area within the shelter 8’ wide, 6’ deep, 9’ high with access to electrical power

6.Delivery of a sponsor information flyer to every pit space within the competition

7.Access to all collected raffle names and email addresses

8.The publishing of a business related article on the new KIC website

9.The publishing of a smaller lead-in article in the electronic newsletter for November that would drive readers to the full article on the site

10.The ability to publish a business white paper to be made available to all in-coming KIC members

The long term opportunities to work with the KIC to develop educational resources that can be delivered via digital outlets as well as to plan for a long term goal of delivering a live educational session during next year’s annual conference and vendor showcase.

Additional Sponsorship Opportunity-

One of the primary objectives of our pavilion design is to attract interested business decision makers to stop by and find out more about the KIC program and to see what the individual members are offering in the showcase area. The more incentives we can include to attract, the greater the potential member base we have to talk to. For an additional $1000, we can add a unique interactive video tool that has a remote broadcast quality video camera positioned on top of a 30ft column of theatrical truss that feeds a large screen monitor on the patio. This camera is equipped with a mechanical pan and zoom system and the long through lens can give a unique view of a number of high action corners on the track. Delivering another viewing angle that can’t be easily replicated from a live vantage point will be a strong draw for spectators. Especially those potential KIC members and sponsor customers.

A Partial List Of Brands That Will Be Present At SKUSA

Bondurant Performance Driving Schools
Skip Barber Driving Schools
VP Fuels
MG Tires
Motul Oil
Honda Motorsports
Mothers Car Polish
Oakley Eyewear
Sodi Kart
Tony Kart
CRG
Yamaha
Pole Position Indoor Karting (National Franchise Program)
Go Racing Magazine
Arrow Karts
CRG Karts
Centennial Race Track
Miller Motorsports Park
New Orleans Motorsports Park
RDD Motorsports
AiMSport
Bridgestone Tires

The pavilion is positioned at the edge of the race track and facility has the shelter opening facing the access ramp to the Hot Pit where every competitor and mechanic must pass to enter and exit the circuit. With more than 3000 bleacher seats, the stands were full during the actual competition on both Saturday and Sunday.

To take advantage of this opportunity contact Ray Verhelst Director KIC at 702-750-7757 or via email at: rayverhelst@gmail.com