I’m a broke kid with $50. Here’s how I sponsored a car at Daytona.

Growing up less than an hour away from Daytona International Speedway with parents who never missed a race on TV, NASCAR has always been a part of my life. My dad managed a local Winn-Dixie (which sponsored Mark Martin at the time), so we always had passes for every Daytona race weekend.

Even though my parents didn’t have the money to put me in a race car, I always dreamed of getting to race at Daytona.

And while that hasn’t exactly happened for me, seeing my logo on a stock car at almost 200 mph kind of feels like a dream come true.

This all started in December of 2022, when I sent an Instagram message to self-proclaimed “Part time NASCAR Driver - Full time Pizza Connoisseur” Brayton Laster, who had recently posted that a major sponsor had backed out less than 2 months before the season-opening ARCA race at Daytona.

I was in no position to fill the title sponsor vacancy with my small business, but I was a fan and wanted to see if I could pitch in a little to help him out.

He replied and said that for $50, I could have my logo on the car and be on the credential list as a member of the team.

I had previously reached out to a team member from one of the smaller truck teams and been quoted 20 times that price–with no guarantee of credentials–so I jumped at the opportunity!

It’s NASCAR’s 75th anniversary, Jimmie Johnson is back behind the wheel as part owner of Legacy Motor Club, and Frankie Muniz (yes, the guy from “Malcolm in the Middle”) is making his ARCA debut in the same race that I’m sponsoring a car.

I received an email from Brayton’s family thanking everyone who helped make this race a reality for their team, as I was just one of over 250 people who pitched in to make sure they could make it down to Daytona.

They closed out the email with, “Should we end up in Victory Lane…we will be jumping into Lake Lloyd in the infield. Be prepared to go swimming in your clothes.”

Now it’s Saturday morning, and the ARCA field is getting ready for their race. I met up with the team near the hauler as they did their final checks on the car before rolling it out to grid.

It took a bit for it to sink in, but then I realized: I’m standing on pit lane just a few feet from a stock car with my logo on the side. I didn’t care that the sticker was the size of my hand and you couldn’t see it unless you were looking for it–all I cared about was the awesome experience I was having.

For the first time, I got to see a NASCAR race through the eyes of a team member, not just a fan. I had a headset on and got to hear my driver communicate with his spotter and crew chief about strategy. I got to stand behind the wall and watch the crewmembers check the tires for any uneven wear after a pit stop.

In the closing laps of the race, the car was hit and sustained some damage, crossing the line 27th of 40 cars, so unfortunately no dive into Lake Lloyd for us this time.