Drag racing is primed for brands

Did you know that to compete in a full season of National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Top Fuel drag racing, drivers need to find $3.5 - $4 million just to get on the track? 

On top of that, unlike other motorsports, most drag racers have to secure their own funding to compete. 

Smart brands have figured out that motorsports is the place to be, but many still don’t know that drag racing partnerships aren't like other motorsports that have management teams running the show.

NHRA Top Fuel driver Ida Zetterström knows this reality all too well. 

She talks directly to brands and creates deals that work for both sides of the table (on top of being an athlete).

Ida’s tactics work because this speed racer gives brands three things other sports can't: direct fan access, events you can actually use for business, and experiences that make customers remember you.

Want to know how she does it? Keep reading 👇

🤿 Below the Surface

Here's what's on deck this week:

• Signal Strength: Inside the untapped market of drag racing

• In the Current: OOFOS X Her Campus Media, Unrivaled gets more unrivaled, a legend returns

• Blue Zone: ”The Fastest 6 Weeks In Sports” now streaming on Roku

• Shark Bite: NHRA’s VP of Marketing wants you to know who’s dominating in Top Fuel

⚡️ Signal Strength  

How to Shift into Action

Brands are missing out on drag racing. And most that do see the opportunity are struggling to navigate how to invest and engage authentically.  

The assumption: pay money, put logo on car, hope people notice.

Ida Zetterström, on the other hand, doesn’t idle. The nature of drag racing means she has to work directly with brands instead of utilizing a traditional management structure, common in other sports.

Fan-voted "New Talent of the Year" award winner, beating NASCAR legend Tony Stewart, she’s all about getting the job done without any filtered messages. 

Just straight talk about what works and what doesn't.

By the numbers:

• 227,000 Instagram followers, 56,000 Facebook followers, 4,100 YouTube subscribers

• 5-8 million monthly impressions on her social content

• Millions of NHRA viewers every weekend on FOX Sports 

• 30-60,000 fans per race with unprecedented open-pit access

• 200+ person capacity at race events, creating premium B2B opportunities

What they're saying: "Partners love the fact that they can work with me one on one. Even if we have a big sponsor and we have a manager, I don't want to lose that connection completely because I think it makes us stronger." — Zetterström.

How it works: The four gears of her partnership process turns regular sponsorships into something that actually moves the needle:

1. Talk Directly to Brands: Work with decision-makers to understand how to represent them best

2. Create Content for Different Audiences: Make content that speaks to racing fans AND regular customers

3. Use Race Access: Let people see your products in action during race prep

4. Turn Race Weekends into Business Opportunities: Use the excitement to build real relationships

The bottom line: When you work directly with drivers like Ida, you get access to experiences that regular sports marketing just can't offer. Plus, you're getting in while motorsports is still growing. 

Get Ida Zetterström’s framework that turns drag racing sponsorship into authentic brand advocacy here.

📰 In the Current  

We monitor the current so you can ride the wave. Here's what you need to know this week:

• Unrivaled Basketball hits 10x valuation from season 1 to 2, league expands with two more clubs, and an added fourth night of games each week. 

• She's baaaack! 12-time NHRA Top Fuel event winner Leah Pruett to return for Tony Stewart Racing in 2026. 

• OOFOS and Her Campus Media partner to give 1,500+ college athletes, what’s likely, their first NIL deal. Participants will receive OOFOS recovery slides, premium gear, and tools to help them create content, share their stories, and hone their branding skills.
  
  The Her Campus Athletic Club equips athletes with education, resources, and a supportive community to build personal brands and engage audiences while navigating the demands of academic excellence and athletic performance.

🦈 Blue Zone  

Women's basketball players have six Mondays between playing in the Final Four to being drafted to training camp to running out of the tunnel to begin their professional careers at tip-off.

Most athletes have six months to prepare for the journey to season's start, this series only needs six weeks.

Deep Blue is proud to present The Fastest 6 Weeks In Sports (the first from our Next Is Now slate), highlighting Sania Feagin, Georgia Amoore, and Kelsey Plum.

Executive produced by Kelsey Plum, presented by Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment, Religion of Sports, and Ensemble, and supported by DoorDash and The J.M. Smucker Co. (Uncrustables), this docuseries offers an unfiltered look at what it takes to go pro and how this critical six-week stretch is shaping the future of women’s sports.

🎬 Now streaming ad-free on Roku

With less than 15% of sports media coverage going to women's sports, this content isn't only highlighting the untold narratives of female athletes, it's changing marketplace dynamics to create more viewership, more inventory, and more fans. 

🌊 Shark Bite

“There’s a huge piece of momentum going on right now in women's sports, and I feel like we have to tell our story because these women compete and win and dominate against men on an equal playing field and do it every day and every weekend … I want to make sure that people know that there is a sport where it's an even playing field and the women are dominant.”
- Jeffrey Young, Vice President of Marketing at the NHRA

Keep building partnerships that go the distance. The checkered flag is waiting!

- Deep Blue Team

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