Sat Feb 19, 2011 2:49 pm
U.S. Army defends NASCAR sponsorship
got this from Jayski
The U.S. Army, which represents Ryan Newman and his #39 Chevy, defended its NASCAR sponsorship on Friday after a Minnesota congresswoman recently targeted the Army's motorsports funding as a waste of money. Lieutenant General Benjamin Freakley said the $7.4 million per year the Army is spending to sponsor NASCAR is being put to good use, as he estimates 46,000 leads have come directly from NASCAR and the environment gives recruiters a great way to reach young people. "We know this is having an impact on recruiting and helping our recruiters with their jobs," Freakley said Friday. "The alternative to this is having a recruiter walk up and down a mall and talking to about 150 people just to get one person to engage them." The Marines, Navy and Coast Guard dropped their NASCAR sponsorships in 2006 but Freakley still sees NASCAR as a crucial recruiting ground. "This is sort of America's sport, and the United States Army is America's team," Freakley said. "I have to invest in awareness. In some venue or another, I have to make some form of investment to make the American people aware of their army. And this is what we think is a good investment."(Orlando Sentinel)(2-19-2011)
The U.S. Army, which represents Ryan Newman and his #39 Chevy, defended its NASCAR sponsorship on Friday after a Minnesota congresswoman recently targeted the Army's motorsports funding as a waste of money. Lieutenant General Benjamin Freakley said the $7.4 million per year the Army is spending to sponsor NASCAR is being put to good use, as he estimates 46,000 leads have come directly from NASCAR and the environment gives recruiters a great way to reach young people. "We know this is having an impact on recruiting and helping our recruiters with their jobs," Freakley said Friday. "The alternative to this is having a recruiter walk up and down a mall and talking to about 150 people just to get one person to engage them." The Marines, Navy and Coast Guard dropped their NASCAR sponsorships in 2006 but Freakley still sees NASCAR as a crucial recruiting ground. "This is sort of America's sport, and the United States Army is America's team," Freakley said. "I have to invest in awareness. In some venue or another, I have to make some form of investment to make the American people aware of their army. And this is what we think is a good investment."(Orlando Sentinel)(2-19-2011)
