In turn, race teams use the money from marketing partnerships to improve their cars and hire the best drivers. That said, the Bentons are finding that
partnering with companies like Home De- pot or Kroger isn't as easy as simply of- fering up prime advertising real estate on their truck series entry. While Black's Tire is certainly a ubiquitous presence in the Carolinas, Ricky Benton Racing has found that it's a small fish in a big pond com- pared to many of the other racing teams. "Marketing is a very important part of
having a team," Benton Sr. said. "But un- fortunately you have the political side of it. You have to have connections just to sit down with some of these bigger companies to talk about a partnership."
Said Benton II: "We feel like we can
give someone more bang for their buck (by partnering with us) because it won't cost a company as much as it would with another team. But it's just hard to even get a meeting." Even in the face of a hefty financial bur-
den — and the frustration coming with closed-off opportunities to relieve that burden — the Bentons aren't disheart- ened. Girded by that seemingly inherent love of racing bred in many North Caro- linians, Ricky Benton Racing will contin- ue in its efforts to become a top contender in NASCAR. "I'm a racer at heart," Benton Sr. said.
"I would love to be competitive. And that's what we're going to try to do." CV
Rick Benton is nearly as passionate about giving back as he is about racing. Over the years his racing team has raised money for Boys and Girls Homes and tornado victims, as well as for other worthy causes.
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