Danica's revealing SI photos. Too hot for even Go Daddy? Go Daddy's NASCAR gamble. Facts & figures behind the deal.

Being an IndyCar sponsor worked well for us last year. We were an associate sponsor of Go Daddy Girl Danica Patrick's number 7 car, and the presenting TV sponsor of the Indianapolis 500 and the Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway.

Danica heats up Sports Illustrated!
Sports Illustrated just published a series of revealing photographs of Go Daddy Girl Danica Patrick. It's definitely worth a look. After checking out the photos I called Danica and asked her "Why were you wearing a watch?" And, "why not a Go Daddy (temporary) tattoo?" Danica's response: "Gee Bob, I had a Go Daddy tattoo on my forehead. They must have photo shopped it off. Sorry." I'm not sure I believe her.

Better than beer!
We were also trackside at most races. Indy patrons who visited our tent picked up souvenirs and had their photos taken with a Go Daddy Girl, alongside the Go Daddy Chopper. The crowds at the Go Daddy tent were usually so huge, one of our staff commented "we wouldn't attract more people if we were giving away beer!"

An old tip from Dad.
My Dad used to tell me "you don't need to taste much soup to know how the whole pot is going to be." Early on we knew our decision to do IndyCar was a winner. So we started thinking ... "If Indy works so well ... we wonder ... how would NASCAR work for us?"

A little about NASCAR.
First a quick little lesson on the makeup of NASCAR. NASCAR - which stands for National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing -- is actually composed of three separate and distinct levels of competition. The most important is the Sprint Cup Series. It's followed by the Nationwide Series. Finally there's the Craftsman Truck Series, which, unlike the other two series, races trucks.

Bootleggers started it.
Lore has it NASCAR has its roots long ago when bootleggers would race each other to see whose car was fastest. A typical NASCAR has a 358 engine, is a Chevy, Ford, Dodge or a Toyota, and boasts about 850 horsepower. Bumping into each other or "trading paint," as they say, is often part of every race.

NASCAR dwarfs IndyCar.
We learned quickly that NASCAR has a following that literally dwarfs IndyCar.

For example, total annual viewership of all Sprint Cup series races is about 160 million households. The Nationwide Cup Series has a total viewership of 56 million households. This compares with the IndyCar Series which has an annual total viewership of about 31 million households. The difference is just huge.

It started with a test.
So last year we decided to test NASCAR. We used a few of our Danica Patrick testimonial commercials. The results were encouraging. From there it didn't take long, we struck an exciting deal with the Hendrick Motorsports team.

Our deal revolved around Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Our deal involved a relationship with Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and creation of the #5 Go Daddy Car that will run in six races in the Nationwide series. We are also an associate sponsor of the Nationwide #5 car in 29 of the remaining races. In additional to these Nationwide series sponsorships, we will be an associate sponsor of the Hendrick Motorsports #5 car driven by Casey Mears for 20 races in the Sprint Cup series.

Meet the Go Daddy #5 Chevy NASCAR!
The GoDaddy.com Car will participate in six Nationwide races this season - Texas Motor Speedway, Montreal, Darlington Raceway, Watkins Glen International, Michigan International Speedway and Kansas Speedway. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will be behind the wheel in Texas and Watkins Glen. Mark Martin will drive in Darlington, Michigan and Kansas. Ron Fellows will drive in Montreal.

To see the GoDaddy.com car - PLEASE CLICK HERE!

A big TV deal to boot.
We also agreed to be the presenting TV sponsor for the Nationwide Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 15th.

Trackside at Daytona.
Fans who attend Daytona can expect to see a GoDaddy.com tent trackside. The Go Daddy #5 Chevy will be there on display, along with several Go Daddy Girls. They will be providing visitors with special souvenir lanyards. Go Daddy Girl Daytona Lara Haworth will also be there this Saturday and Sunday signing photographs.

New Go Daddy NASCAR ads.
The crew at Go Daddy Productions produced two new ads with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to air this season. To check out the ads please click on the following links:

To see Dale One -- PLEASE CLICK HERE.

To see Dale Two -- PLEASE CLICK HERE.

I'll be at a lot of the races.
Business aside, I'm excited about the upcoming NASCAR and IndyCar seasons. You can expect to see me trackside and in the pits at a number of these races - many of which my friends and I will travel to on our motorcycles.

Ain't that America!
There's no doubt about it, NASCAR racing is as grassroots American as it gets. I love the sport and all the people connected with it. I definitely identify with them as "my people." It's where Go Daddy belongs!

Until next time.