This is the NHRA (Natl. Hot Rod Assoc.) track in Baytown, TX, outside of Houston. On the NHRA schedule it says Houston, so everybody says that and not Baytown.
Lots of companies use models to promote their products or services. The NHRA is no different. I hired a model to help me for a weekend at the Spring Nationals. Here’s how it went.
O’Reilly Auto Parts sponsors a lot of NHRA Events throughout the year.
The NHRA has a great Manufacturer’s Midway. Lots of interactive things for the fans to participate in.
POWERade was a Major Sponsor for a time.
There’s something about pretty girls and motorcycles. The combination always makes a good photo.
And when it’s 2 bikes and they’re Harley’s, well it’s great looking.
It’s tough to say which Harley photo I like best.
Okay, it’s this one.
We worked for Quaker State and Pennzoil this weekend. Here we are in Tony Pedregon’s Funny Car Pit Area. This was the photo used on Fe’s Autograph cards.
Fe is wearing the Event Hat that they produce every year. They stand out and are great collectibles for those Hat Aficionado’s.
The thing I always wondered about bikes like this… you can’t give beautiful girls a ride.
You’d be very surprised at how many cops want to be Drag Racers.
Houston has more than its’ share of Speed Demon Cops.
I like looking at them all.
This is my favorite so far.
Okay, scratch that. Any Bandit car from ‘Smokey and the Bandit’ always wins in my book
Drag Racing Fans take the used tires from the race cars and bring them home.
Then they turn the tire on its’ side in front of the couch and put a piece of glass on it and call it a living room table.
Pretty innovative and shows your friends and family your Racing Style. Fe and this Fan are comparing Driver Autographs on their backs. Hers on her shirt and his on his chair.
Fe had Autograph Cards and some Sharpies to sign them with. Notice the Pennzoil Banner we put up. That will be discussed in NHRA 101: Branding.
Racers love models. We had no problem getting a photo with any of them.
The Media Team wanted a pic with Fe in their golf carts.
I love the flags on his Quad Runner and the wind was blowing just right for this photo.
We had a golf cart also and everywhere we stopped, a crowd gathered around Fe.
Pay attention to my photography at times. I could have cropped the picture for a ‘Close Up’ of Fe and the Fans, but I didn’t want to cut out the Harley-Davidson and Vance & Hines logos.
Photography is important in all aspects of Motorsports. If you’re not good, practice.
Fe was great with the fans and they loved her.
Fe posed for a pic with the Miller Lite Girls.
I think Motorcycle Cops are the coolest cops there are and this one looks pretty cool posing with Fe and his bike.
These guys flew the helicopters over the Track before racing began. The crowd loved it. And those hats are boss.
Here’s Fe with the whole crew. In the background are 3 Inflatables. The orange one for Fram filters. The blue one for POWERade and the yellow one we put up for Pennzoil.
They are Trackside to be seen by the fans in the bleachers and most importantly, the TV Cameras. Air time is money. Remember that.
I love seeing the Military enjoying themselves. People love men in uniforms.
In the NHRA, the Drivers are much more approachable. Fans can get anything autographed by a driver if they go to his Pit Area and catch them between rounds.
I mentioned this before, but I love Fe in that Sponsors hat.
Racing Sponsors spend millions of dollars to get their logos, products and/or services exposed to the public in the hopes of increasing sales.
As I mentioned earlier, Fe and I were at the races to work for Pennzoil and Quaker State, two major oil companies.
When Fe was going to take the photo, I told her to cover up his Valvoline logo on his shirt so we couldn’t see it in the photo. Valvoline being another competing oil company.
When working in Motorsports, you have to constantly be aware of your surroundings and your job. An opportunity can arise at any time.
At the end of the day, Fe had accumulated quite a lot of autographs on her shirt.
The guys working for the NHRA were all nice enough to stop and pose for a quick pic.
Tony Bartone was walking by so we stopped and asked for a photo and he was nice enough to oblige.
Here is Fe and the Harley-Davidson guys. Can you guess what category they compete in? Look at their awning and how they logo’d it with that purpose in mind.
This is a great photo for Fe and I. The fans are wearing Pennzoil shirts and carrying Quaker State bags. Win win for everyone. Oh, and so you know, Pennzoil and Quaker State are owned by the same company. They still compete against each other as separate entities, but the money goes to the same bank acount.
In this photo, notice how I cropped the picture to leave in the Quaker State logo on the Team Hauler.
Right now, the team is in their Pit Area, working on their Race Car, while fans accumulate to watch and wait for Autographs.
Companies love cute kid photos because they create that ‘Warm & Fuzzy’ feeling, to put it in Marketing terms, lol.
Kids today are spenders ‘On the Way’. Don’t use that, I just coined it.
Notice in this pic how I cropped the photo but left his little brother in it.
As far as ‘Warm & Fuzzy’, this pic has it. Go on and say it, “Aww.”
Some fans wanted their own photo instead of downloading one from my site. At every event that I attended, I always took lots of pictures.
And every time it was people, I gave them my card so they could visit my site and get their photos for free. Lots of people across America have pictures from my site.
Parents love when you show their children some attention, but it has to be authentic. You can’t be an asshole, then try to ‘act’ nice. You have to ‘be’ nice, or they see right through you.
The NHRA is the only racing where they sell Gas Masks because of the fumes in the Pit Areas.
Some people don’t care for Track Food or Carnival Food. After eating it for about a decade, I’ve grown to love it, even crave it.
Turkey legs are very popular at a lot of Tracks.
Models are like magnets and the men and boys are drawn to them. Make sure you’re using models in the right way and not just for Sex Appeal.
People would crowd around Fe, so much so, that at times it was hard to see her. I see Quaker State Bags. Somebody’s been working.
Some guys got a little too ‘Touchy Feely’ for my tastes. Notice he’s on his tiptoes. O’Reilly Auto Parts didn’t make Table Covers for their Display Area, so the made due with a Banner folded in a certain way to resemble a Table Cover.
Here’s another guy with both his arms around her and rubbing up on her body. If it wasn’t educational, I would have left it out.
See the Quaker State Bag in this next photo? Companies love to create ‘Good Impressions’ with ‘Future Consumers’ and hope they have ‘Brand Loyalty’.
Some consumers start out buying a product when they have their own money and will stay with that company a lifetime. That’s why companies can’t have cartoon characters to try and sell cigarettes, like Camel’s Smoking Joe Cool.
I’m glad we brought enough Autograph Cards because Fe was signing all day long.
And she signed a lot of shirts.
Another Quaker State Bag.
The kid on the right already has his hat off and ready to be signed.
This guy’s shirt was signed by a driver earlier.
He’s wearing a POWERade logo’d hat.
The Army is a big Sponsor in Motorsports.
A good ‘Father & Son’ picture from their Day at the Races.
Fe had a lot of Driver’s autographs on her back.
Notice the cropping so the logo on the Team Hauler is visible.
Can you find the Quaker State Logo?
More Quaker State Bags in this next pic. I’ll discuss this more in NHRA 101: Branding, but I’ll say it here also.
The Quaker State Bags were better that the other companies bags. Look at the white Summit and the white POWERade bags.
They don’t have a nice plastic handle like the QS bag. QS spent the extra money for a quality bag and it paid off.
When fans walk by, QS people would open a QS bag and swallow up the person’s other bag, like a whale swallowing a smaller fish. And the fans loved a bag with a handle.
And then the day got good for me.
She was there to watch a Pro Stock Motorcycle Racer and dressed for the occasion. His name was Geno and she was ‘Jeannie for Geno’.
I didn’t care if she was ‘Jeannie for Joe Blow’, she was an attractive woman. Remember what I said about women being magnets?
Fe and I enjoyed our weekend at the Races immensely.
And then we went to the Winner’s Circle on Sunday.
The NHRA might not be as big as NASCAR or IndyCar, but it’s a very enjoyable weekend.
Richard Brady’s relative was the famous Brady that photographed the Civl War. Richard shot photos of cars going 300+ mph.
Notice Fe is now wearing a white shirt and in the earlier photos she was wearing black and an Event Hat.
This is now Sunday and the day of the Finals. She is also wearing a PZL hat. Richard is pointing at her shirt logo. At least I think he is, lol.
Now you can see the front of the Inflatables. I shot these photos from this angle to get them in the background.
When taking pics in the field, always use your camera or phone as an asset or very important tool.
Fe looks great in her white PZL shirt and black PZL hat in front of the PZL Inflatable.
In this pic, I made sure to include the PZL Track Signage.
These kids remembered their Day at the Races for a long time because of this photo.
Even ladies wanted their pic with Ms. Pennzoil.
If you ever attend an NHRA Event, try to notice the things I’ve mentioned. And practice taking photos with your camera or phone.
That completes this NHRA 101 Course. Give yourself 3 Credits towards Graduation. Congratulations on your Quest for a Degree from The Universite de Arachnida.
To see other course requirements for your degree, see next link.
Motorsports Degree Requirements
Any questions and/or comments may be directed to the following:
Dr. Spider Michaels, Phd.
Spider@SpiderMichaels.com