By David G. Firestone
Over the years, I’ve discussed my feelings on the new companies that sponsor racing. Examples like DC Solar and Zloop Electronic Recycling are examples of racing being used to launder money, or other flat out fraud. I understand the idea of vetting sponsors, but for the most part, I’m against it. It hurts many small teams. Unless it’s clearly fraud, I hate the idea of vetting sponsors.
As the NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals however, sometimes vetting is good.
During Friday Night Qualifying, the top drivers in the four professional categories will split $7,500 between them in the “inaugural “Top Dog” competition, presented by UsedHotDogs.com.” When I first heard of “UsedHotDogs.com” I sarcastically said that it’s a place to buy and sell half-eaten hot dogs. Well, to my shock and horror, that’s exactly what it is.
I’m not joking, UsedHotDogs.com buys and sells hot dogs from racing venues, sports venues, theme parks, and…celebrity hot dogs. Ok, the celebrity hot dogs are jokes, but the other three are very real. Apparently they’ve found people who are willing to buy and sell half-eaten hot dogs…how?
Seriously, who in their right mind would either buy or sell a half-eaten hot dog? How is this legal? Does the FDA know about this? How is this profitable, and where did they get $7,500 to sponsor the NHRA? I refuse to believe that they’ve sold $7.50 worth of used hot dogs, let alone $7,500. That’s just the NHRA. They have also advertised at a number of events in the St. Louis area.
Their website is also a piece of work. It looks like the best web design that a mid 2000’s custom MySpace page could generate, with quite a bit of AI images. Looking at the website, there is no shred of professionalism or integrity. This almost looks like a joke website, but they claim they are real.
This has to be a front for something. Again, I refuse to believe that they sell enough to cover the cost of the website, let alone the ability to advertise on the level that they do. It’s either a front for something and/or money laundering. How could it not be? This whole thing screams “SCAM!”
If sponsors like this keep permeating the sport, we will soon see more rules and more vetting. This is just as bad as Rich Energy, but Rich Energy actually does produce energy drinks. DC Solar and Zloop Electronic Recycling were frauds, but they were made to look like real businesses. This…holy hell! What more can I say?
Sources Cited:
