Menu
Scorpion celebrates on victory lane with Ryan Newman
Scorpion Protective Coatings has come a long way since its inception in 1996. The local company, with its corporate headquarters on U.S. 231 just south of U.S. 40, has expanded to include numerous commercial and retail brands and is now a multi-million dollar industry.
Last week it even sponsored Brickyard 400 winner Ryan Newman.
"We wanted to do something with (Newman) at the track, him being an Indiana boy and us being an Indiana-based company," Scorpion Window Films COO Josh Buis said. "It just so happened that we brought each other a little luck."
Scorpion Window Films, branch of Scorpion Protective Coatings added in 2006, is the fastest growing window film company in the US with sales on pace to double each of the past two years.
Though this was Scorpion's first NASCAR sponsorship of the year, it wasn't the first time it reached a deal with a driver in America's most popular motorsport.
Scorpion sponsored Front Row Motorsports driver David Ragan last year in several races, including the Brickyard and Daytona 500.
That got the team a taste of what NASCAR can bring and the company wanted more of it.
"All year long we were trying to work something out with Tony Stewart. We wanted to sponsor Tony Stewart during the race," Buis said. "All that was booked up."
Instead, Scorpion turned to Ryan Newman, a South Bend native and Purdue graduate.
Rather than sponsoring Stewart-Haas, the team that includes Stewart, Danica Patrick and Newman, Scorpion worked out a public speaking agreement with just Newman himself. They didn't get a logo on his car, but they did get his image and likeness for marketing.
Scorpion also got special attention at Indianapolis Motor Speedway before and during the race.
Buis said his company found out the sponsorship would come through a few months ago and it took all that time to get things lined up and planned out.
"It really helped us out because we've been scrambling around and inviting customers. You only have so many tickets to the suit," Buis said. "Ryan came in Sunday morning, which was excited because Saturday night we found out he won the pole.
"He came in and signed a bunch of autographs. ... I think (Scorpion's customers) all enjoyed having the opportunity to meet a celebrity like Ryan Newman."
The customers also had cold passes to the race, meaning they could visit the pit until 30 minutes prior to race time. Buis and the other Scorpion executives had hot passes.
They were in pit row for tire changes and refuelings. They also knew they'd be able to visit with Newman after the race ended.
Buis said he was going back and forth between the pit and the luxury suite during the race and was heading back to the suite as the final quarter of the race was commencing.
Then he got word to come back down to the track.
"I got a text that said, 'Hey, you better get down here. We've got a chance to win this thing. ... The next thing you know we're jumping over and rushing to the car in victory lane."
Scorpion has done other sponsorship deals in the past -- UFC events, youth football camps for the Buffalo Bills, etc. -- but getting the automotive accessory company on victory lane for a NASCAR event was the highest-profile deal yet.
"There's over 300,000 people at these tracks and all of them love cars," Buis said. "People who love NASCAR love cars. People who love cars fit the business that we're in. ... We want to get our brand in front of everybody.
"We want people to see our brand all across the United States and all across the world."
Scorpion is already in all 50 states and more than 50 countries selling and licensing a variety of products.
Their protective coatings have been used on trucks, Blackhawk helicopters and ships. The durable truck bed liners can be customized for use and color. Al's Liner, a branch of Scorpion, is designed for the do-it-yourself retail market.
Scorpion Window Film, with corporate headquarters in Putnam County, includes a large laminating facility in Nixon, Mo.
The aggressive expansion comes from the hard work of the staff and owner Clayton Tomasino.
The careful planning and preparation on NASCAR teams and drivers is something Buis said he can relate to, not just with Scorpion but also as the head coach of Greencastle High School's football team.
"There's no difference between business, football and NASCAR. You have to prepare to win and that's what drew me to those drivers," Buis said. "To be able to see hard work paying off, that's what draws me to the type of job that I have being a football coach and watching those guys during the race."
All that preparation helped turn Scorpion into a thriving, growing company despite the economy.
It also helped Newman and his team become a winner last Sunday at IMS.
"It just so happened that that day we were a part of that team. We were a part of Ryan Newman's team," Buis said. "People like winners. It's just another opportunity for this company to associate itself with a winner like Ryan Newman.
"Everybody likes to win."