Start Your Own Racing Team

By Tommy Constantine, as told to Pat Sisson

It takes a rare breed to strap on a safety harness and white-knuckle the steering wheel of a professional racecar. Even fewer racers can call those amped-up cars their own. Tommy Constantine, a partner in Playboy Racing and CEO of Tommy Constantine Racing, knows what it takes to join the elite fraternity of rider/owners. Starting as a mechanic in the early '80s, he worked his way up the racing world and now runs a stable of cars in the Grand Am and Rolex series that sport the world-famous rabbit ears. Are you an adrenaline junkie who dreams of driving for yourself? Then heed Tommy's advice on paving your own road to the winner's circle.

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Get a B.A. for the Speedway
Owning a racing team requires a lot more than hair-trigger reflexes in the driver's seat. If you want a piece of the action, you have to be able to deal like the business school show-offs on The Apprentice. "Unless your last name is Andretti—and I don't say that in a negative way because they're my friends—you have to make your own deals," said Constantine. "You need to scratch your way to the top and make contacts. Try to talk with VPs and CEOs at post-race events. It's tough because the barrier of entry exists for everyone. And once you get someone's attention, get to the point. I equate it to picking up a girl in a bar. You better have something good to say."
 
Don't Get Caught Up in the Hype
Until the money is in the bank, you don't have it and shouldn't be racing. "A lot of people will fund racing programs hoping to get a sponsor by the middle of the season," he said. "Ninety-nine percent of the time, they end up spending several hundred thousands dollars and the sponsor never comes." Teams are usually paid in installments, so make sure the schedule matches your expenses. For instance, Constantine made sure he had enough capital for the first race of the Rolex Series, the 24 Hours of Daytona Race, because it's the year's biggest expense. Owners should also factor in crash damage and get insurance, because a few wrecks can bankrupt any owner.
 
Racing with the Big Boys Doesn't Always Have to Mean Big Money
Budgets quickly become outlandish in racing. NASCAR is at the top of the hill in terms of money and budgets in the U.S., and supporting a car is a $20 million dollar-plus proposition. According to Constantine, a better place to start is Grand American Racing, where cars only cost a (relatively) cheap $2-3 million to support. "It's reasonably attainable and a high profile deal because NASCAR is behind it," he said. "It's got great growth potential."

Timing Is Everything
That's not new information for drivers, since races are usually decided by fractions of a second. But to make the multi-million dollar deals necessary to get a racing team off the ground, you also need a good sense of timing. "You have a thousand guys out there who want to drive or own their own team," said Constantine. Start pitching a company mid-way through the racing season, because it takes at least six months before the deal is finalized. Constantine recommends approaching companies that just started advertising at racetracks or start-ups that need to stretch a limited ad budget. Even something as minor as switching a logo may signal a company's willingness to look for new ways to get the word out. But don't make the rookie mistake of calling a company after they announce a huge racing sponsorship. "Why would they spend millions more after they just made a huge deal?" he said. Instead, approach an industry rival and see if they want to compete with their adversary on the track.