Author’s Note: As we all know, NASCAR drivers garner more attention than anyone else on their team. However, there are so many people on the teams that all play an important role in the success of the team and the sport we love. I am going to feature a variety of people who have careers in NASCAR, but aren’t normally in the spotlight.
Angie Copen is an Account Manager at OBO Sports, where she works to help the agency’s clients maneuver their way through the fast-paced NASCAR industry. She is primarily responsible for managing the ServiceMaster Clean account.
ServiceMaster Clean probably sounds familiar to you because when the yellow flag waves at all 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series tracks, it brings out the “ServiceMaster Clean Caution.” ServiceMaster Clean is in its third season as the official sponsor of caution periods at Dover International Speedway and every International Speedway Corporation (ISC) and Speedway Motorsports Incorporated (SMI) track.
OBO Sports works alongside ServiceMaster Clean to help the company with its racing partnerships, a vital role in the sponsor-driven racing world.
Here are some of Copen’s quick facts:
Family: Mom (Linda), Dad (Donald), Sister (Penny), Dog (Abby), Cats (George and Gracie)
Hobbies: Music, pets, and exercising
Favorite sport to watch: Football
Favorite type of music: 80s
Most memorable moment of her racing career: This is tough. I have a lot of great memories with a lot of great people. I know I’ll never forget that first time I walked into Daytona International Speedway at 4:30am to work my first race event (little did I realize the work day wouldn’t be over until about 8:30pm later that same day). There were fans walking around at that time, too. No joke. I thought, “Really?” It looked like that movie, The Night of the Living Dead. True NASCAR fans are extremely passionate. There is no question about that.
Most memorable life moment: There are so many, it’s hard to nail just one down. The most memorable ones have definitely been shared with my family and friends.
Copen has been in the sport since 2001, starting in sports agency public relations and transitioning to account managing. Her sister Penny was already working in NASCAR, and she really enjoyed her job and the traveling that came with it.
Penny’s love of the job and growing list of media contacts made Angie Copen, who was working for a public relations firm in West Virginia at the time, interested in getting involved with racing. After applying for a couple of positions in late 2000, Copen landed her first racing gig in January 2001.
When asked what can make drivers easy or difficult to work with from a marketing and PR standpoint, Copen replied, “This is simple. Those who appreciate and respect the time and efforts of their co-workers, sponsors, teammates, crew and fellow competitors, are great. Those who don’t possess that appreciation and respect, it will show, and thus aren’t so great.”
Copen also stated if she could pick traits that every driver would possess, they would be humility and gratitude. Now that she’s working as an account manager, she has less interaction with the drivers, but plenty with track sponsor ServiceMaster Clean and its at-track guests.
Her overall responsibilities are to assist in managing the sponsor’s at-track presence and help the sponsor maximize the benefits associated with their involvement in the sport.
On a weekly basis, Copen plans and manages at-track hospitality events, maintaining budget numbers for each event and program elements throughout the season, and assisting with the sponsor’s trackside services relationship.
These tasks include an exhausting list: drawing up and distributing guest/host communication, packaging/shipping invitations and tickets, planning the overall weekend event (minute-by-minute), arranging catering, guest gifts, venue décor, guest accommodations, driver appearances, and guest infield access, preparing and managing event staff, arranging unique experiences or opportunities for VIP guests, handling the pre-event site check and setup, acting as a guide for track tours, and helping with a special sponsorship award program started by ServiceMaster Clean in early 2010.
Her favorite part of the job is getting to meet all of the sponsor’s guests at the track and teach them about the sport, in addition to working with budgets and crunching numbers. After her years in the sport, Copen says she ironically lists the travel as her least favorite part of the job now, because of the things she looks back and realizes she missed over the years while she was traveling 30-plus weekends around the country.
Copen says travel can be a big challenge because in addition to being away from home so frequently and for so long, there are the typical travel issues, such as delayed flights, living out of a suitcase, and the dreadful post-race traffic after a 10- to 14-hour workday when attempting to make that highly anticipated flight home.
Still, Copen has enjoyed working in the sport, although she says there is a lot left on her bucket list outside of racing. She lists her future racing career goals as simply “to just do the best I can every day I’m on the job for my company, my sponsor, its guests and myself.”
In closing, she answers a few additional questions and gives valuable advice:
TD: What advice would you give to someone looking to enter racing from the corporate PR world?
AC: That is tough. With teams downsizing and sponsorship really pulling back over the last five years, the job opportunities keep decreasing. However, there are always folks who get burned out or decide to change direction with their careers in racing.
I would advise, depending on what someone is looking to do in the sport, work to make contacts at the race tracks and with both ISC and SMI. Those are the two companies that own most of the tracks. I’m pretty sure the tracks are ALWAYS looking for volunteers when the races come to town, and may have some part-time opportunities throughout the year that may not be racing related, but would help you get your foot in the door and you never know who you will bump into when you are at the track helping out with things (you could make some great sports agency contacts or team contacts). If you work hard, be professional and do a great job, your name will start to carry weight and make its way around the sport.
TD: If you could change anything about NASCAR, what would it be?
AC: I’m probably not the right person to comment on this, but I’d shorten the season for sure.
TD: Do you have any funny stories from the road?
AC: I do, but once again, there are so many. I also feel like with most of them, you totally had to be there to appreciate the humor. I’m not the best story teller either.
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