The following is a sponsorship proposal that we are using and are constantly changing to fit the sponsors needs and wishes. Please do not think this is what you will get in your packages. They will change and vary to fit your needs.
Race Team Album
http://s1000.photobucket.com/albums/af12...trong2740/
The car itself right now is stock and has not been modified. The suspension will be getting modified here shortly once sponsorship is obtained and the team can secure some funding. The team is staying in solo (auto cross) for a few seasons before heading to Club series with the SX4 and possibly a second. Pictures will follow at the end. Thank you for looking and your interest.
Future Plans
- Sway bars added to front and back
- Bushings changed to polyurethane
- Turbo Charged to a 16G turbo (small but fast spooling time)
- Upgraded to 17" tires with a DOT R-Compound tire used
- All body pieces that can be removed will be removed and replaced
with carbon fiber. Most of these pieces will be handmade unless
nice aftermarket pieces are available. So far nothing out there that
appeals to the team
- Roll Cage installed
- Racing Harness (5 pt)
- Adjustable Shocks
- Forged Internals for the Engine
- Spoiler added to rear. (This will be the one seen on the WRC SX4
until a more suitable one can be found or fabricated.)
Note: Some of these modifications will only come in play once the Club Series is entered
Researching
The team is researching into companies offering a way to make a race transmission (club series) and will look into having a few different transmissions with different setting for different track layouts.
The team is researching the cars to be used in the Club Series. Will try to stay with the SX4 and field a second one or will field a second completely different car.
More research will be done on the suspension and what can be done to allow for more tune ability.
An Inside Look Into the World of Solo II Racing
Solo II Racing is commonly referred to as “Autocross Racing.” This type of racing usually takes place at airports or other venues with a large parking lot available to set up a track on. This makes it easier for racing to be done in many different locations.
The track is outlined with traffic cones. This allows for a single site to have an infinite number of track layouts. This tests the driver’s skills and the car’s handling ability. The whole purpose of solo racing is to train the driver to become more familiar with their vehicle’s handling capabilities in a safe and fun environment.
Each region has their own clubs that run races and can compete against other regions. Each region may also have multiple varieties of race events ranging from Solo, to Club Car, to Rally Racing. Each event and race type has different requirements and restrictions on vehicles based on the class you want to enter. More information about these, and other race types, can be found at the Sports Car Club of America’s (SCCA) website,
http://www.scca.com.
These events are run and sanctioned by the SCCA. The country is split into different divisions. The division in focus is the Central Division, with an opportunity for national events as well. The Central Division is also split into nine regions that cover North and South Dakota, Iowa, Northern Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the northern part of Michigan. There are nine divisions across the nation, but the team will stay mainly within our participating division.
Each Region hosts their own events and has schedules available on their websites. A complete division schedule (made up of all the regions) will be assembled. This schedule is based off the ones available on the SCCA website.
The National Championship Event this year, sponsored by Tire Rack .com, will be held in Lincoln, Nebraska. The dates of the events are September 4th through September 11th. The team will not be going to the nationals due to the late season start. The team will try to compete at the next championships.
The Team
This is the team’s first year of Auto Cross Racing. The team has started half way through the season, but has done well thus far and hopes to continue in this direction. If the team continues to do well in the rest of the season and events, they have the chance of placing by season’s end.
The first race found the team winning first in its division. Due to the young age of the team and being new to the racing scene, the team was only able to take an award in one event. This resulted in the team taking first in its division. The team also took second in the stock class and third in the stock tires class.
The team had a repeat win again at the second race. The course was small and tight, but the car and the driver performed well. The team now has two first place wins and is sitting within striking distance for a podium finish at the end of the season. The team trails third place now by only 1000 points (each first place win is worth 1000 points).
An Inside Look into the Team
The Driver:
The team’s driver, James Graf, is 25 years old and has been a car enthusiast for many years. Racing has been his dream and passion for several years. He has been working with cars since he was fifteen. He is a certified automotive technician and pursuing a degree in computer programming.
His first project car was a 2000 Oldsmobile Alero. He spent an entire summer under this car, rebuilding and modifying the engine and the entire car, so it would do well on the track. This car has been sold, and he now focuses his attention on the car he has now, the future race events, and where to take the team. His goal is to bring the team into the Club Car race series. This will take a few more years of research and planning to achieve this goal.
James Graf is a Sergeant (E-5) in the Illinois National Guard and has been in for almost eight years. He plans to continue his commitment to the Illinois National Guard for at least another twelve years. He has been deployed once to Iraq and served there for a year.
The Vehicle:
The car being fielded right now is a 2008 Suzuki SX4 hatchback. The car is all wheel drive and with its lightweight design makes it a strong competitor for the Auto Cross racing series. The car is a manual five speed with a 2.0 L engine.
Future plans for the car are underway and will be available upon request. The car will stay in the stock class for the remainder of the season. The next season we will see the car starting out in stock, and toward mid season it will move up to the prepared class with mostly suspension upgrades and some minor engine performance upgrades. The prepared class is a class that allows for race compound tires, suspension modifications with no restrictions, and some of the engine components can be changed out to allow for a higher performance.
Team members:
The team members consist of friends and family members of the driver who are able to assist and help with maintenance and planning of the car and setup. They are the backbone of the team and offer their support when they can. They are a volunteer force right now and greatly appreciated.
Amy & Christina Sheley
They are the support for the team. They help in providing transportation during race day, since the car is occupied in the races. They also support the team by providing food and drinks. You can almost always expect to see one or both of them at each event.
Chris Quinett
He is the technical advisor for the team. He offers advice on driving technique and common practices. He has a background in automotive mechanics and suspension.
Clark Miljush
He is the teams’ mechanical advisor. He has a strong background in modified engines and all wheel drive setup. He also provided the team with footage when available from race days.
The car mechanical workings and adjustments are mainly made by the driver, but have assistance from Mr. Quinett, and Mr. Miljush. The team is currently searching out a local shop to assist the team by offering use of the shop if needed in the future. This will give the team the space and tools needed to make more accurate adjustments to the vehicle
The team will compete in Solo Racing for the remainder of the 2009 season. During the next several seasons the team will be in the works of changing over to Club Car Racing. This will result in fielding two vehicles to compete together in a team effort to win the series. If more information on these plans and about the club series is required, more details can be provided.
The team is looking for sponsorship on a contract base. We would like to sign a contract for a set amount of seasons with annual sponsorship payments based on which sponsor package is chosen. A contract can be negotiated, worked out, and agreed upon by both parties.
The sponsorship packages that will follow shortly will be left up to the sponsor to decide, and there will be two sets of packages based on what the sponsor would like to see. One set of packages will be based solely on the participation in only the main region (Great Rivers Region). The second set of packages will be for participating as much as possible in all regions (within the Central Division).
Some events will be scheduled on the same days in multiple locations which will hinder the team from competing in all events. Also due to scheduling, some events may not be reached due to the schedule being too close and not allowing for recovery of the driver or the car to be set for next race. An example would be a race in North Dakota on a Saturday and the next in Central Illinois on that Sunday. This would not be possible due to lack of recovery time between events.
Race Schedule and Location (2009 season remainder Central Division)
Date Region Location
7/26/2009 Chicago Region / IL Route 66 Raceway -
Joliet IL
7/26/2009 Badlands Region / ND Red River Valley Fair
Association West
Fargo ND
7/26/2009 Great River Region / IL Whiteside County
Airport Rock falls IL
7/26/2009 Iowa Region / IA Hawkeye Downs
Cedar Rapids IA
8/1/2009 Milwaukee Region / MI Miller Park Milwaukee
WI
8/9/2009 Milwaukee Region / MI Miller Park Milwaukee
WI
8/15/2009 Land O'Lakes Region / MN Minnesota State
College Southeast
Technical Winona MN
8/16/2009 Great River Region / IL Whiteside County
Airport Rock falls IL
8/23/2009 Chicago Region / IL Route 66 Raceway -
Joliet IL
9/7/2009 Great River Region / IL Air National Guard
Davenport IA
9/12/2009 Milwaukee Region / MI Miller Park Milwaukee
WI
9/20/2009 Land O'Lakes Region / MN LaCross Fair Grounds
Speedway
9/26/2009 Chicago Region / IL Route 66 Raceway -
Joliet IL
10/4/2009 Chicago Region / IL Route 66 Raceway -
Joliet IL
10/11/2009 Milwaukee Region / MI Miller Park Milwaukee
WI
10/17/2009 Chicago Region / IL Route 66 Raceway - Joliet IL
*please note: some event dates may not be listed. A complete list will be put together based on each regions announced race event dates.
Examples of some Sponsorship packages we have offered before
Great Rivers Region Packages (10-12 races)
Package One
• The Driver and Passenger Front doors will have your logo placed on the doors with a magnetic decal. These will remain on the car at all times.
• The car will be driven daily to allow your advertisement more recognition.
• The car will be serviced at your shop for major work (minor routine maintenance or warranty work will not fall under this).
• The car can be available for publicity events given proper notice (commercials, events at the shop location, etc)
• Shop employees and investors will be invited to race events to watch and have ride along in the car at the end of the event. These runs are called “fun runs” and cost $3 which will be covered by the team.
• During Race Events information can be available to participants and onlookers to inform them about your shop, prices, specials, etc.
Package Two
• The Driver and Passenger Front doors will have your logo placed on the doors with a Magnetic Decal. These will only be on during race events and publicity events.
• The car will be serviced at your shop for major work (minor routine maintenance will not fall under this).
• Shop employees and investors will be invited to race events to watch and have ride along in the car at the end of the event. These runs are called “fun runs” and cost $3 which will be covered by the team.
• During Race Events information can be available to participants and onlookers to inform them about your shop, prices, specials, etc.
Central Division Events (30-60+ races)
• The Driver and Passenger Front doors will have your logo placed on the doors with magnetic decals. These will remain on the car at all times.
• The car will be driven daily to allow your advertisement more recognition.
• The car will be serviced at your shop for major work (minor routine maintenance will not fall under this).
• The car can be available for publicity events given proper notice (commercials, events at the shop location, etc)
• Shop employees and investors will be invited to race events to watch and have ride along in the car at the end of the event. These runs are called “fun runs” and cost $3 which will be covered by the team.
• During race events information can be available to participants and onlookers to inform them about your shop, prices, specials, etc.
Package Two
• The Driver and Passenger Front doors will have your logo placed on the doors with a Magnetic Decal (Only on during race events and publicity events)
• The car will be serviced at your shop for major work (minor routine maintenance will not fall under this).
• Shop employees and investors will be invited to race events to watch and have ride along in the car at the end of the event. These runs are called “fun runs” and cost $3 which will be covered by the team.
• During Race Events information can be available to participants and onlookers to inform them about your shop, prices, specials, etc.
Please keep in mind that with the Central Division Packages you are getting 4 times more races and exposure to the public. This is why the prices are drastically higher. If you want to pick out a set number of races to sponsor and make pricing based off that this can be negotiated and placed in the contract.
Sponsor’s Obligations and Responsibilities
The sponsor will be financially responsible for the amount agreed upon in the contract for sponsorship. The finances will be used to purchase necessary items for the car and team to function at competitions. This will range from equipment on the car, fuel, event costs, advertisements (body wrap, decals, etc), to costs to get to and from events.
The sponsor will be responsible for cost of cleaning the car for media or publicity events. This will include the cost of the items used to make the car stand out more. Items such as tire dressing, polish, window cleaner, and clay bar, and armor all will be included in these expenses.
If the sponsor wishes to have the car doing some minor racing at events, the sponsor will be responsible for setting up a safe location to allow for this to be done without endangering the car, driver, or on-lookers. The team can make these arrangements if needed with the local SCCA group. Prior and proper notice will be needed in-order to make this happen. The team would also like a set of tires to be purchased to be used during the event and future publicity events. These tires will only be used for the sponsor events and not for racing or daily driving. (These tires can be a set of regular tires nothing special)
The team is not responsible for any cost of publicity events or other events that the team is asked to appear at. The event costs are the responsibility of the sponsor. The team will be responsible for being at the event in a timely manner and in proper accord with the sponsors wishes and contract agreement.
For further information please contact us by one of the methods below. We will be more than happy to answer any questions or provide more details for you. We look forward to working with you soon. Thank you for your time and interest.
―The Graf Racing Team
Contact Information:
James Graf
GrafRacing@hotmail.com
A phone number will be provided upon contact to prospective sponsors
