‘Sponsorship’ by Guy Edwards. Not sure if you can find it but it was an eye-opener for me 17 years ago.

Put your 17-year-old in charge of the process. Let him pursue opportunities with your support and network access.

You know at least that they like racing but you had better match up pretty well against their existing programs. Key here is building relationships whether they are in the sport already or not.

Karting is clearly the place to start. This will give you some sense of his natural ability for racing. He should show some pretty early ‘wow’ factor to be on the F1 path.

I would recommend the Jim Hall Karting School in California to start, a terrific fundamental baseline to work from. SAFEisFAST and the RRDC community will be full of helpful advice from there. Best of luck.

Trust your instincts.

Getting up to speed quickly can be tricky – a fine line between pushing yourself and not making a big mistake that ends your weekend. Best way is to practice, of course, but to literally practice getting up to speed. Try doing this at your next practice day. Have a friend time you from a standing start in pit lane, full effort out lap and then full effort in lap, and then stop the watch when you come into pit lane and come to a complete stop again. Use that ET as your new baseline to work on. That forces you to ‘get after it right away’ on cold tires and no warmup. Make sure to check your helmet’s buckled!

Not understanding that the approach should be about their (the company’s) needs, not yours.

I learned early on that I was always going to be the quarterback of the business side of my racing. Nobody will be more effective at selling you than….YOU. The process requires tremendous determination and focus. Don’t rely on someone else to take on the biggest challenge of your career. It’s OK to delegate some responsibility like PR and hospitality tasks, but you want to have your hand firmly on the sales process.

Regarding industries that like motorsports, remember that companies don’t make sponsorship decisions…people do. Therefore you are looking for people who generally like the idea of motorsports, regardless of industry. Find the ‘car guys’.

I can discuss my Sponsorship Coaching program with you off-line.

Win. And win often. Plus, meet everyone you can – at the track, at school, at your parent’s place of work. Get comfortable engaging strangers with conversation. Good luck!

I would start now. I got my first real sponsor after five races…(but started working on it before my first race). If I didn’t then my racing career was effectively over.

I secured my first sponsorship deal during my first year of racing simply because I had to; there was no other option. When your back is against the wall it’s amazing how focused you can become. I was successful at meeting people that were in a position to sponsor and convinced them of the benefits they would receive.

Face to face is always the best way. That way they can’t ignore you so easily. You don’t need to go coast-to-coast, just focus on your region of the country. There’s more opportunity then you will ever have time to pursue.

You do not need to hire someone to do this for you. This process requires you to harness your passion and desire and channel it towards the sponsorship process.

I started going to Willow Springs Raceway when I was 19 on my GSXR 750. I was pretty quick but also pretty quick to realize that I was going to fall a lot learning the limits. I recently went to Superbike school through Skip Barber and learned so much that I wish I would have known at 19. Maybe I’d be in Superbike today???

Advice: Invest in the best modern racing education you can find. That will save you a lot of money and pain. BTW, meeting with Nicky Hayden before the Indy 500 a few years back is one of my special racing memories. Worship those guys…Love anything with two wheels…wrote a Christmas list for my wife the other day with one item… Ducati 1199.

Racing is cruel in that you can’t just buy a basketball and go to the park. Sometimes we forget that the basic entry level costs are still waaayy higher than any other sport. When I was in your shoes, I decided that I would focus on making as much money as I could to get my racing started – that ended up being a telemarketing job (largely illegal these days) where I could make upwards of $50 per hour when I was 16. A brutal occupational existence but was a means to an end (and legal at the time!). Working a job (consider something in sales) is a better route to getting your foot in the door. If you’re good at the outdoor kart racing then you’ll have a platform to pitch to your sponsor prospects. Go get ’em.

More money than they are making today. How can your program show them increased revenue or decreased expense? Study their business. Understand how it really works and then give them some ideas that fit with what you’ve learned.

The British community for racing represents the pinnacle of motorsports because it’s the home to Formula 1 – the undisputed top level of racing in the world. Often times you are reminded by members of that community, in subtle ways, that you are a foreigner – not just by foreign citizenship but by foreign racing community. That is the vibe from the European racing community. They are proud of the system they have created because it works in shaping World Champions. Best advice is to embrace the mindset and lifestyle wholeheartedly and then get on with the job of beating them.

I loved my time racing in Europe. Everything is very well developed and refined from a sporting standpoint. The drivers are putting it all on the line and it’s fiercely competitive. I felt that made me stronger as a driver and person. Just flow with it, learn the game over there and master the challenge.

I loved Silverstone because it was so fast but because it’s also so flat (like all of the other ex-WWII airbase/tracks), I almost went off BIG my first flying lap… turned down an old taxiway, just before Maggots, thinking it was the track!

Like most opportunities, there is an investment period. A racing school can be considered an investment (much like college!). However, if you’re willing to work for it then literally do just that. Work for it. Any part time job will get you to racing school in no time.

You are trying to climb one of the most difficult mountains in the world. Shed everything in your life that could weigh you down and focus on the summit. If you want it bad enough, you will get there with disciplined improvement in your skills and technique (on and off the track). Don’t forget to send me a picture when you make it!

You can make 100 phone calls and never speak to someone or you can go to an event (trade show, party, car show, etc.) with 100 attendees and speak to every single one of them. Get out behind the computer and go meet people where they are. You are looking for people that like cars and have some business connections…that’s where the path starts. Be Fearless.

See answer above. You will only be limited by the strength of your desire to ‘make it happen’.

See answers above. Plus, make sure you have a clear sense of your platform: ‘Who You Are’ and ‘Where You’re Going’. Remember that you’re not really selling them just Spec Miata. You’re selling them the winner’s circle at Le Mans or the Indy 500 or Monaco. You are inviting them to join you in the very difficult climb to the top.

Glad to hear your passion for working in the industry. I would suggest that you attend an IndyCar race next season, buy a paddock pass, and literally walk the paddock and introduce yourself to team management. Their contact information can generally be sourced online. Have business cards and make your focus about a quick hello and an suggestion to meet them outside of the race weekend to discuss opportunities in more detail. The best way to a team executive’s heart is through his (or her) pocketbook, so be prepared to explore the business development aspects of the team and where/how you might contribute. Good luck!!

ROI – Return on Investment. How is your proposal going to ‘make them money’ or ‘save them money’?

Get to Europe as soon as possible and commit to the F1 junior development system. Alexander Rossi and Conor Daly would be good examples to follow. College degrees have little to do with racing in Formula 1 (or NASCAR/INDYCAR for that matter). Given the immense challenge of making it to F1, you would be best served putting 100% of your effort into that climb.

Eliminate the term ‘donation’ from your strategy. That implies that you are a charity and that you don’t return any value (outside of emotional) to your donor. Focus on connecting what you do with the operation of your prospect’s business. Study what they do and how they make money, then appeal to both their emotional and BUSINESS desires. Good luck!!

Sweat, tears, but very little blood… (thankfully!!). I was fueled by an incredibly strong desire that I had very little control over. I started out sleeping on floors and tap dancing with credit cards but I had to become a deal maker to ultimately make it work.

From a driving standpoint, I did not need to take nearly the level of risks (over-driving) that I thought was necessary. From a sponsorship perspective, putting my fears and ego aside to reach out to people I did not know but had the power to give me what I needed. P.S. Congrats!! Awesome job!