Sponsorship questions face Visit Florida Racing

New questions have been raised regarding the health of Florida state's "Visit Florida" promotional campaign funded by its tourism board, which could affect the ongoing sponsorship of Spirit of Daytona Racing, which operates under the Visit Florida Racing banner.

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Per the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, "Visit Florida Chief Financial Officer Nelson Mongiovi wrote in the notice that 'Visit Florida must make major changes in its strategic direction moving forward,'" and added "The $2.875 million contract – about $1 million has yet to be paid – is tied to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season that concludes in October with the 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans in Braselton, Georgia."

Separate from its multi-year racing sponsorship programs in the former Grand-Am Rolex Series and its current IMSA sponsorship program with Flis's team, Visit Florida has engaged with teams competing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and has ventured into supporting other sports, including a European soccer team. Visit Florida has been under heavy scrutiny for the last two years after it was revealed rapper/singer Pitbull received a $1 million payment to promote the state through social media and a dedicated song. Despite multiple requests for information on the arrangement, details of the contract were kept private until he revealed the amount in December.

To quiet the messy affair, Visit Florida's CEO and two other top officials resigned in December at the request of Florida governor Rick Scott.

Left unaddressed in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune is the scuttlebutt regarding available funds to pay the existing Visit Florida promotional contracts. It's believed a perceived lack of state-apportioned funding is the primary reason for the sudden 30-day cancellation notices, but there have also been questions raised regarding the accuracy of those concerns.

With a thorough accounting of all available funds, the need to cancel contracts, or to let them run the full duration, will be known. If adequate funding has been received by Visit Florida, it would be possible for the Visit Florida Racing team to continue carrying its familiar blue livery through the end of the season.

Without Visit Florida's backing, the Daytona Beach-based outfit would, in theory, be required to find a new primary sponsor to replace Visit Florida on July 3 – the day after IMSA's six-hour race at Watkins Glen.

The Visit Florida questions come at an incredibly inopportune time for the IMSA Prototype effort. An expensive season racing its new WEC P2-spec Riley/Multimatic Mk. 30-Gibson prototype has delivered little in the way of meaningful results. A destroyed chassis at Long Beach and another costly impact at the recent Detroit race has stressed the team's budget, and with a need to find a more competitive car to generate better results, the potential loss of Visit Florida's funding could pose serious problems.

Prior to the June 2 notice from Visit Florida, Flis told RACER he was looking for a more competitive Daytona Prototype international solution to turn his team's fortunes around in 2018.

"We're looking very hard at manufacturers because if we're going to be competitive, we'll have to come back with a manufacturer," he said.

Whether Visit Florida leaves after Watkins Glen or stays onboard through Petit Le Mans, it appears the team, at minimum, will need to find another revenue source in order to reach the starting line next January at the Rolex 24 at Daytona.