Name a more iconic duo than sponsorship and racing. Ever since teams realized they could start selling space on their cars and helmets to make more money, sponsorship has been one of the driving forces between who gets to drive, who gets hired on the team, and who wins a championship at the end of the year.
But sometimes, that desperation for money means things get weird. Like, really weird. Like, ‘how did they even find out that these people would give them money’ weird or that secondhand embarrassment ‘these poor souls are forced to do the most awkward things’ weird.
My personal favorite was the era when the Church of Scientology was sponsoring cars. In the late 80s and early 90s, IndyCars and Le Mans cars were sponsored by Dianetics, which was L. Ron Hubbard’s sci-fi self-help introduction into the new religion that was sweeping the nation.
But there’s gotta be more. Give me your favorite cringey, hilarious, embarrassing, or just straight-up disturbing sponsors. I want to see those bad liveries and terrible ad campaigns. I want to see the sponsors you couldn’t show on TV or would refuse to hang on the wall. Let’s see what you’ve got!