For years, NASCAR fans have hung all sorts of collectible items from and in their cars. In some states, now they can legally carry the names of their favorite drivers on their license plates.
Race Plate Marketing, a West Virginia-based company, has started a line of license plates that include the names, car numbers and team colors of 25 top drivers.
And, so far, in three states-New York, West Virginia and Alabama-car owners can get an official, registered version at their local Department of Motor Vehicles to replace their typical state-backed plates. About 20,000 such plates are on the street, says Bob Brant, president of Race Plate Marketing.
The first line of license plates was released a year ago, and Race Plate, along with assistance from fans, is petitioning other states to allow the official licensed version to be offered alongside the usual assortment of vanity plates supporting other non-racing issues
Getting the registration version of the plates on vehicles is not easy. Before the plates can be offered by a DMV, the state must pass legislation approving the design and use.
In addition to the states already offering the plates, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia are preparing to start the program and work is underway in North Carolina, Brant says. New York, a state often not thought to be a racing hotbed, started its own racing plate program and then worked with Race Plate Marketing, instead of Brant taking the project to the state from the start.
Besides the registered version, Race Plate Marketing also offers the plates in a non-registered version that fans can either hang on the front of their cars in states requiring only one official plate, or to simply use as a collectible item.
The company has two versions of the non-registered plates. The signature series has the driver's signature and his car number, and sells for $16.95. The plates are designed more for the souvenir market, rather than pure collectibles.
The collectible series plates are replicas of the registered versions, using thesame highly reflective digital printing process used to make the state plates. Those plates sell for $24.95.
"Our manufacturing facility is one of the only manufacturers in the country that uses digital processing," Brant says. "We use the same coating as the registration plate, which makes them stand out in the daytime and at night."
For comparison, the registration version, available at DMV offices, costs between $40 and $50, depending on the state.
Among the 25 drivers available through Race Plates are Kevin Harvick, Dale Jarrett, Kurt Busch, Jeff Burton, Jerry Nadeau, Matt Kenseth, Rusty Wallace and Michael Waltrip. There is also a standard NASCAR-branded plate available and other drivers may be added this season. "Typically, the No. 3 plate is the leading seller," Brant says.
So far the plates are only available through the sanctioning states or on the company's Web site www.raceplates.net, though the company is working to set up track-side and retail sales.
The company is also focusing on getting access in states that only require a single registered plate, which will allow fans to use the souvenir plates on their cars as well. "A lot of people use them as collectibles and not necessarily on their cars," Brant says.
As of now, producing license plates is Race Plate Marketing's only business.
"We felt strongly we had a pretty good idea when we came up with the concept," Brant says. "We know how race fans feel about their drivers, and we knew we had a good product."