You can put your sponsor flags up wherever you want: races, car shows, or even your driveway if you are in the mood to stoke your neighbors. Promotion can be anywhere.

You can’t drive down the street these days without a huge promotional flag poking out of the ground trying to sell you a bigger burrito or inexpensive tax preparation. These flags are all over the place like zits on a teenager. The reason is they are relatively cheap to print up and display. This is a great opportunity for you as a grassroots racer to show your sponsor a little love at the track and also to help your friends find you in the paddock.

Help your friends find you in the paddock with a couple of free standing sponsor roll flags. They make your team look professional (even if you’re not) and are a great way for you to get the word out for the companies kind enough to sponsor you.
Help your friends find you in the paddock with a couple of free standing sponsor roll flags. They make your team look professional (even if you’re not) and are a great way for you to get the word out for the companies kind enough to sponsor you.

First you need a design that will look sharp and convey your point. If you’re not a Photoshop nerd, find someone who knows the difference between a .jpg and a .gif and have them help you design something cool. Then take it to your local sign shop and have them print the image on the large long flags. Our flag kit, which included poles, stand, flag and printing, cost only $150.

One problem with the flag kits is the base kit comes with a large stake to be placed into the ground so the flag stays erect (yes, I said erect). Most paved paddocks don’t really lend themselves to having holes punched in them. To work around this issue and keep our flag erect (yes, I said it again, grow up) we use a tire stand and a mop bucket filled with concrete to keep our flags in place and flying proudly. We can take photos of the flags at different events, post them to social media and then tag in our sponsors. Sponsors take note of the extra effort you put forth, and when you go back and ask for more free round rubber donuts, you may have created your own luck for future support.

We purchased the “tire stands” for the flags, which are designed to be placed under the tire of a parked car.
We purchased the “tire stands” for the flags, which are designed to be placed under the tire of a parked car.

The flag kits come with a long pole split into three sections. We placed some PVC pipe in the concrete of our mop bucket before the concrete dried to make room to store our flag poles when they weren’t being used. The buckets work double duty as ballast and as storage. The handle on the mop bucket makes moving the “ballast buckets” around easy. We found some real estate in the trailer to store the flag buckets so they can travel with us all over the place. I do my best to put them up as many places as possible. And if I have nowhere to go, sometimes I just put them up in the yard and stare at them — my neighbors love it. Let your freak flag fly!

Using a mop bucket, PVC pipe and cement, we came up with an easy way to weigh down the tire stands. This bucket seconds as the storage container for the flag setup. The poles break down into the three components. You can see here we have three separate holes to store the poles and an eye bolt to tie the end of the flag so it doesn’t fly away.
Using a mop bucket, PVC pipe and cement, we came up with an easy way to weigh down the tire stands. This bucket seconds as the storage container for the flag setup. The poles break down into the three components. You can see here we have three separate holes to store the poles and an eye bolt to tie the end of the flag so it doesn’t fly away.
We use our ballast buckets to hold the three separate flag poles and the metal base in place. A simple eyebolt and rubber bungee hold the buckets in the trailer while traveling.
We use our ballast buckets to hold the three separate flag poles and the metal base in place. A simple eyebolt and rubber bungee hold the buckets in the trailer while traveling.
Image courtesy of Rob Krider

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