Off-Road Sponsor Challenge

AHRMA, the essence of off-road.” That was the title of my column in the November 2022 issue of AHRMA MAG. I wrote that article after having what I could only describe as an “idyllic” experience at Bushey Ranch in Canby, CA. The people, venue, promoter partners, and racing were truly as good as it gets.

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As I stood there watching how hard everyone worked as a team, I was impressed. The one thing that I noticed was missing…SPONSORS! We have discussed potential ways to improve support on the off-road discipline, and this would be a good start. I must credit our Chairman, Carl Anderson, with the timing of this initiative as he has chosen a class to sponsor and invited others to do the same. The entire feel of off-road is “grass roots” for a good reason. The collective teams (members and race managers) come together to create a great experience with modest resources, and in some very remote areas. This is a real “for the love of the sport” initiative and watching an AHRMA off-road weekend reinforces that we deserve more sponsor support at these events.

So, knowing that talking about something is never going to make it happen, I am planning to sponsor one of our classes for 2023 effective immediately. We are working out the details of how our off-road sponsorships will return value for the sponsors (signage, announcements, print / digital / social media options, and other ideas). Because AHRMA Off-Road is grass roots, our sponsorship kick off is going to have to be as well. I’M ALL IN, AND I’M ASKING OTHERS TO BE ALL IN AS WELL.

OFF-ROAD SPONSOR CHALLENGE: If you have the ability and inclination to support our off-road racing community at AHRMA, please consider becoming a Class Sponsor. Here’s my challenge, and my offer…

• Pick your class: Review the classes in the AHRMA Handbook and decide on your preferred class.

• Reserve your class: Contact Brandi Martinez via email at brandi@kcaspecial-ops.com to reserve your sponsorship and initiate the paperwork. Class sponsorships are $500 for the remainder of 2023.

• Cross your fingers: Do you feel lucky? You may be… At the end of the year, I am going to draw a “name from the hat” which will contain all of our 2023 Off-Road Class Sponsors. Then, I will pay for your sponsorship. I know most sponsors will want to do this for the good of the club, but here is an extra incentive to support this important discipline in a way we haven’t done in the past.

Off-road members make up roughly 2/3rds of our overall AHRMA membership. Terry McPhillips, our Off-Road Race Director, runs a tight ship along with a quality staff across the country. They deserve all the support we can give them and now is the time to show it. Let’s show Off-Road the love we show Road Race. Let’s KICK START the OffRoad Sponsorship program now and not wait / hope for someone else to do it. ARE YOU IN…?

Now, let’s race!