East High grad leads college team in NASCAR marketing competition
BY ERIN PATTESON, Californian staff writer epatteson@bakersfield.com
Ricky Gonzalez, a 2007 East High graduate, has been thinking like a NASCAR executive.
What, in a hypothetical example, must he consider if tasked with deciding whether NASCAR should partner with a non-profit organization?
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Photo courtesy of NASCAR Ricky Gonzalez a junior Spanish/ marketing major from Bakersfield, will go to Miami Nov. 17 to participate in a NASCAR national marketing competition. He's part of the Notre Dame University team.
Gonzalez, a junior marketing major at Notre Dame University, was picked along with teammates to participate in a national competition for students answering questions like this, and they'll make a final presentation to real NASCAR execs Nov. 17 in Miami.
"I'm pretty excited for it. Not just to be in Miami, but for the opportunity," the team captain said.
He and four other Notre Dame students entered the contest in April after learning about the project from an advisor, who talked about a sports marketing opportunity.
The competition initially consisted of three projects aimed at measuring teams' research abilities and creativity by giving them marketing challenges to solve.
The three teams with the best combined scores from three projects and a final presentation go to Miami, said Talia Mark, director of NASCAR Kinetics: Marketing in Motion. Along with Gonzalez's team, squads from Howard University and Coastal Carolina University will be there.
The final project was a 15-minute presentation called "How NASCAR can reach and maintain the youth demographic," which was delivered via phone conference to Mark.
The winning team will attend the Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead Miami Speedway, which is the last race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, among other activities.
Gonzalez said the competition has been a good experience, allowing him to apply what he learned in the classroom to real-life situations.
"I really like the team aspect," Gonzalez said. "It's taught me how to run a team."
Gonzalez said teams are made up of five sophomores through seniors. One member of Gonzalez's team had to drop out, so the team ended up with four members.
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