(By Pat Caporali — from Vision Racing Will Not Go Gently)
Dear Mr. Brian McKay,
It’s unfortunate that you feel that “the Vision team as a whole is a joke, and the sponsor-seeker(s) and PR flack(s) should fall on their swords in shame rather than blame their misfortune on ‘the economy.’ — pathetic…”
I just wanted to clarify that I, as the referred-to PR flack at Vision Racing, did not blame the team’s misfortune on “the economy” or politics of the federal or racing kind, nor anything else for that matter. If you got that sense from us, it was unintentional.
The fact is, we don’t have sponsorship. We continue to seek some out. I assure you we are not the only team in this predicament. And with the help of fans, and the letters they felt they wanted to write on our behalf, we hope to do so in the near future.
However, the team was made up of hard working individuals with families, pride in the job they did, and a love for the sport. If you think that is a joke, that is your opinion, but I assure you they didn’t think they or the team was a joke.
As for any shame I might have … I think it is a shame that you didn’t get to know Vision Racing as many others have in the past little while. I felt it was my job to let everyone know how amazing the team is by giving them a glimpse of the inner workings and a chance to get to know each member. I had hoped that our social media efforts would have done that but I see now that I have failed as we didn’t reach you. And for that I am ashamed.
We weren’t expecting to win over everyone, just those who recognized that we actually cared about sharing what makes racing special for those who work in it.
So if you have that sword at the ready, please feel free to send it my way. But if you feel that you don’t have the funds to pay for shipping due to the economy, I have some suggestions on where you can keep it for me …
By P Daddy, February 4, 2010 @ 7:13 pm
Take that!
By Brian Wake, February 4, 2010 @ 7:32 pm
Well played PC!!!
By Leigh O'Gorman, February 4, 2010 @ 7:36 pm
The most beautiful come back I have ever read.
By Bruce Jensen, February 4, 2010 @ 7:40 pm
Mr. McKay
I will make the same irrational assumptions as you did. You obviously are not a true fan of Indy Car or any other racing venue, since you do support the concept of this sport. Yes, it is a sport and each TEAM is just that – a team of dedicated people doing what they love.
By Jeremy Scott, February 4, 2010 @ 7:47 pm
Through this letter, I have gained even more respect for Pat…
By P Daddy, February 4, 2010 @ 7:48 pm
Pat, as a followup to my brief post I wanted to say I appreciate all Vision Racing has done to engage the fans through the utilization of multiple mediums. As you may have noticed during Mr. Bernard’s introduction, he also recognizes that marketing the stars of this sport is paramount to it’s success. Vision Racing was at the forefront of making this happen. I believe wholeheartedly that a sponsor will recognize the value Vision Racing brings and a deal will get done.
Good luck and I hope a sponsorship comes your way soon, IndyCar needs Vision Racing!
P.s. I thought Bausch & Lomb would be a good fit.
By Schrementi, February 4, 2010 @ 7:58 pm
Wait – Hmmm… Where’s the rub? Oh! There it is…
By Eric Schwarzkopf, February 4, 2010 @ 8:00 pm
Well said Pat …. you guys are the hardest working PR people in Motorsports and it shows with the fan base you have. This will be a bump in the road and Vision will be back stronger than ever !!
By Porthos, February 4, 2010 @ 8:12 pm
Very well written and executed. Brian McKay needs to sink back down into the slime and ooze where he belongs.
By Porthos, February 4, 2010 @ 8:15 pm
BTW, kudos to the Silent Pagoda for printing this letter too!
By MARS, February 4, 2010 @ 8:27 pm
A very sad day for genuine sportsmanship in America to lose Vision Racing.
Mr. McKay and others seem to think that recovering from tragic loss is so laughable and so hilarious, but mocking that loss is just totally immature and adolescent. (Unsportsman-like conduct – Penalty: 15 yards.)
Safety and responsibility is what I saw at Vision racing, along with wholesome American Family Values, and as an Indy critic of late, I appreciated all of their efforts.
Vision racing with the original Izod commercials tried to take away the glorification of wrecklessness and emphasized control and style. Losing Vision Racing is no laughing matter.
By TheKarter, February 4, 2010 @ 8:29 pm
Yeeeaaah! …. What Pat Said.
By CurlingRacer, February 4, 2010 @ 8:48 pm
As I said on the other post, this is why we love Pat so much. She eloquently refuted everything said and NEVER stooped to a lower level.
For those who THINK they know anything about Indy Car Racing, and I’m not talking just the racing, need to seriously think before they type.
By Amy, February 4, 2010 @ 9:21 pm
I heart Pat. She is AWESOME! I will be really upset if they don’t get sponsorship cause I want to meet her in person at St Pete!!!!
By Nicole Lascelle, February 4, 2010 @ 10:00 pm
Having spent more than a decade as a motorsports flack representing some of the most innovative brands with the biggest budgets in the sport, I applaud the Vision team and Pat Caporali(who, full disclosure – I worked with for Big Tobacco)for their exceptional social media outreach, fan development initiatives and creative problem solving to the most challenging problem in racing – finding other people’s money to race with.
Truth of the matter is, race teams get faster, earn more podiums and championships and attract more expensive (read talented, experienced, whatever you want) drivers when they have a big operating budget. How do you get a big operating budget? Convince a sponsor that you are the best chance he has of reaching the consumer so he can SELL MORE STUFF.
So, if I read some of the criticism properly… When hundreds of consumers/fans (who you spent the previous season building a relationships with by letting them know how important the are) write reference letters to potential sponsors telling them “hey… sponsor Vision racing and we’ll BUY YOUR STUFF” this is a bad thing?
When, because they took the time to build relationships with their fans, Vision Racing could ask any one of those fans in any city across the U.S. to do an interview with their local media (raising awareness nationwide) explaining how he/she wrote a letter to potential sponsors saying I’ll BUY YOUR STUFF if you sponsor my favorite race team…that’s a bad thing?
When the story goes viral, bringing more attention to the team and increasing the chances some sponsor decision-maker will see the story and think…”hey, now that’s a team who will take my sponsorship money and LEVERAGE it, and HELP MY COMPANY SELL MORE STUFF, instead of just letting it pay THEIR bills” the flack should fall on her sword for the program?
Hmm. Guess it’s better to just to offer a sticker on the car, driver’s suit and transporter and be done with it. Why would a sponsor want to meet and put their product in the hands of hundreds of Vision Racing fans at the racetrack anyway?
By George Phillips (Oilpressure), February 5, 2010 @ 12:47 am
I don’t claim to know Pat, but her actions in the past week have been nothing less than heroic. With the odds (and time) stacked against Vision Racing, she has embarked on a revolutionary and remarkable crusade. With even competing teams jumping into the letter writing campaign, I certainly hope this turns out to be successful and we can see Ed and the #20 car on the grid with full sponsorship for Brazil.
Roy…your site has turned into quite the haven for the serious-minded. What is your next quest? World peace?
By Bickelmom, February 5, 2010 @ 9:31 am
Rock on, Pat.
By Sticky McCombs, February 5, 2010 @ 10:13 am
Booyah!
By Asian Thom, February 5, 2010 @ 10:19 am
The IZOD IndyCar Series needs more people like Pat C.
By Neon18, February 5, 2010 @ 10:59 am
Pat, because you are so awesome, just keep looking up and God will provide! So dissappointed that Izod did not choose RHR and GR for Vision with the original Izod swagger…I was just starting to feel like everything was gonna be alright!
Brian is just a blogger and from my experience of great loss, and silly adolescent boys, just hope that he will live and learn.
By Riss, February 5, 2010 @ 12:20 pm
Great response Pat. I can only hope and pray that Vision fonds someone to jump on board. They all are missing out on something special. If the sponsors come, so does that first win.
By Brian McKay (embarrassed), February 5, 2010 @ 4:51 pm
“The on-going economic environment has been difficult on ALL the IndyCar teams AND their sponsors.” — from “What Vision Racing Fans CAN Do…” Saturday, January 30, 2010
I am sincerely sorry that I insulted Ms. Caporali and others in Vision Racing. I should not be so uncouth and unkind. I apologize. BJM
By Rich, February 6, 2010 @ 1:02 am
Well done, Pat. I sincerely hope you find sponsorship soon.
By Jeff L., February 6, 2010 @ 8:35 am
Mr. McKay,
Perhaps you CAN help. Have Vison gather a group of prospective sponors. They can all attempt to pull the sword out from where you are keeping it for Pat. The firts one to get it out must be the chosen one and will sponsor Vision into the next mellenia.
By Jeff L., February 6, 2010 @ 8:38 am
BTW, I can’t see what I type on my computer until it posts, and yes, I am proud of all the typos and spelling errors.
By Ashes40, February 6, 2010 @ 11:28 pm
Stortebeker-Ganassi scale for PatC 9.999.
Could have gone for the perfect 10 has she concluded her missive with a stout SO’S YOUR FACE