NASCAR Cup Series

Pentagon's NASCAR backing under fire

Published Feb. 15, 2011 12:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Rep. Betty McCollum wants to put the brakes on the Defense Department's 10-year sponsorship deal with NASCAR racing teams, saying the multimillion-dollar recruiting effort is a waste of money, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

The Minnesota Democrat is also dubious that stock car sponsorship has much to do with enlistment numbers or troop readiness.

"This is not only putting a sticker on the car. This is paying for a racing team," Bill Harper, McCollum's chief of staff, said Tuesday. "That doesn't contribute to military readiness."

The amendment was one of more than 400 that lawmakers want attached to Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) spending bill to fund the government through Sept. 30.

In an effort to let the "House work its will," Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is letting lawmakers in both parties offer amendments. One would ban using federal funds to round-up wild horses, unless for breeding purposes. Another would defund the Environmental Protection Agency.

It was unclear which proposals will end up in the final bill, scheduled for a vote later this week.

Congress directed the Army in 2000 to explore motor sports sponsorships as a recruiting tool. At some point last decade, each branch of the military had a partnership with NASCAR racing.

The Marines axed their racing team in 2006 because of a smaller ad budget and because there was no way to know if it actually boosted recruiting. Today, only the Army, the National Guard and the Air Force still sponsor race cars.

Col. Derik Crotts, director of the army's sponsorship, said in an e-mail that the Army spends $7 million a year on its racing team, and finds it valuable.

"Youth surveys show that motorsports is a passion point for young Americans," wrote Crotts. "It is critical that the Army use these passion points to communicate with prospects and their influencers."