APR looking for sponsor partner for #55: Andy Petree Racing, a team that went to Victory Lane twice last year with two cars [#33 and #55], one coming at Rockingham, where Joe Nemechek drove the #33 Chevy to win the race [it no longer exists, a victim of sponsorship woes, except for a few one-off deals], could be in trouble if money doesn’t soon materialize for Petree’s other car, the #55 driven by Bobby Hamilton. “It’s been a very frustrating year, especially since we were coming off our most successful year,” Petree said. “We won two races with two cars operating on a budget that was less than what some teams spend on one car. But we used what money we had to run an efficient program. I truly believe if we just could have maintained sponsorship levels, we’d be a contender to win every week.” So Petree has launched a sponsor search that could ultimately become a new trend in NASCAR. Desperate to keep the #55 on the track — and ever hopeful the #33 can come back — he’s looking at every way possible to scrape together the necessary dollars. Square D, an electrical distribution company that sponsors the #55, has told Petree it can’t afford the $8 million he needs to run a full Winston Cup schedule. But the company still wants to be involved, and Petree is looking for co-sponsors to help pick up the tab. “Square D can do about a third of that, maybe I can stretch them to do a half,” Petree said. “So my goal is to find some other companies who want to get into the sport, but also can’t afford to do a full sponsorship deal, and bring them in on a smaller price tag.” That’s almost unheard of in NASCAR, where some sponsors pay upward of $16 million a year to splash their product on the hood of a car for 36 weekends a year. But Petree has never required that kind of money to function, finding ways to cut corners and stretch every dollar while still being competitive. The basis behind Petree’s new plan is to bring at least one other company on to the #55, and find a way to give the sponsor the most value. For example, Square D can be the primary paint scheme and host the hospitality tents at races that fit its market, while another company can hit the cities that it wants.(CBS Sportsline/AP)(10-30-2002)
