For the last six months we have been interviewing dealers from around the country about their involvement in motorsports and how their dealerships use racing to sell their store and create good will within their community. This month we feature Bob McCracken, General Manager of Town & Country Ford in Nashville, Tennessee. They have designed an incredible program using all of the principles of Motorsports Marketing 101. In late 1994, Ricky Haynes, a local racecar driver, approached Bob McCracken about the idea of sponsoring a race team for charity. The result is the "Racing For The Children" program. It is a winning combination for the dealership, driver Ricky Haynes and Vanderbilt Children's Hospital.
Q: Why do you donate all of the race team's winnings to charity?
Bob: I don't think anyone has done anything like this around here. Vanderbilt Children's Hospital is one of the most respected organizations in our area. Children are our future and I don't think you could do a better service.
Ricky: I had been out of racing and didn't have a sponsor and I was really at the end of my rope on how to get back involved and how to get the sponsors involved. I was starting to see some Winston Cup teams get involved with charities and I thought that was what we needed to do. I contacted the hospital first and told them what I wanted to doI got the okay from them before I got started.
Q: How did the whole concept get started?
Bob: Ricky had been working at the dealership for about a year before he approached me about the idea of racingat first I wasn't receptive. We started talking about the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital and that's when I started to listen. Within five minutes I was telling him a number of ways that I thought the program would work. We sat down and came up with the "Racing for the Children" theme. Ricky said he was going to donate all of his winnings to the hospital and I told him that Town & Country would match that total.
Q: What does Ricky do at the store and what do the other employees think?
Bob: Ricky is a performance technician and a number of the other guys in parts and service make up his crew. Form top to bottom-the salesmen, the ladies who work upstairs-everyone wants to know how their team did last weekend. It's, "How did we do?" It's like they are a part of the team. We started this in 1995we're going into our fourth year, and it just keeps getting bigger and better each year.
Q: What is the response of the fans?
Bob: There is no negative response whatsoever. It's all positive. People go up to Ricky all the time and tell him stories about how someone in their family or a neighbor's child had their life saved at the hospital. Ricky was presenting a check at a Vanderbilt football game last year and nobody knew who he was until he presented the check. When he went back to his seat after halftime he was swarmed. People were telling him how great this was and how much they appreciated what he was doing. It was a Vanderbilt - Florida game. One man from Florida (originally from Tennessee) who had his son with him relayed a story about how his son's life had been saved at the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. It was overwhelming for Ricky.
Q: Does the race track do anything with your unique sponsorship?
Bob: They are always real good about interviewing Ricky and they've done nice articles about us in the program. Ricky also makes around ten appearances with the truck for the race track. They are really good about plugging our program.
Q: You also have a radio station as a sponsor on the truck. What role do they play?
Bob: The station 98 WSIX Radio is a great sponsor. They are the Number One country radio station in the area and each week they talk about how Ricky's done. Plus, we do a lot with them at the dealership with remotes and ads. Having a radio station as a sponsor is a definite plus.
Q: Did Town & Country have a previous relationship with the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital?
Bob: Since 1985 we have donated a portions of sales to the hospital. It's something we believe in very much.
Q: Do the fans come to the store?
Bob: There are pictures of the truck around the dealership and people will actually ask to see Ricky when they are at the dealership. We get a lot of response from buyers thanking us for our involvement. The seed is planted to come to Town & Country Ford. We always have a supply of autograph cards for people to take when they come to the dealership. The results are not just in sales, but our association with the hospital, with the "Racing for the Children" program and the goodwill which has been created through our involvement with Ricky.
Q: 1998 looks to have potential to be the biggest year for the program so far. What series does Ricky race in at the Nashville Speedway?
Bob: It's called the Nashville Super Truck series. In 1996, Ricky won the Mini-Modified Series and came to me about stepping up to the new truck series they were going to run. He approached me about running the series and since we sell a large number of trucks we thought it was worth looking at. It meant a bigger commitment from the dealership, but now we would be racing a vehicle that could have an even greater impact on the sales at the dealership.
Q: You've said that you want Town & Country to serve as an example. What do you mean by that?
Bob: We hope it energizes other companies to follow suit and support charities through racing. After visiting the hospital and seeing what they do for children, it makes you want to get more companies involved in programs like this. Our involvement has been a way for us to put something back into the community. The programs where our donations go help purchase equipment and provide research dollars for cystic fibrosis as well as bone marrow transplants. What better place is there for us to work with than Vanderbilt Children's Hospital?
In a time where we read about the selfish acts of professional athletes, how refreshing it is to hear about a racer and his sponsors working for a cause. In 1998, Ricky will fly the sponsorship colors of Town & Country Ford, 98 WSIX Radio and EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts in his quest to win races and raise dollars for the "Racing for the Children" program.