Latest / The Racer on Demand Show / Episode 13 | Bottom-Up Branding (ft. Troy Green)

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Episode 13 | Bottom-Up Branding (ft. Troy Green) · The Racer on Demand Show

• Megan: All right, everybody. Welcome back to the Racer on Demand show. I am your co-host Megan with my good friend Amanda. And we've got a special guest today. We have Troy Green from Maxima Racing Oils. And so he is going to share with us today his experience working with Maxima. And I'm sure if you're listening to the show or watching the video, you have heard of Maxima. So, you know all about their Troy Green: Peace. Megan: oils and SC1 products and all the other cleaning products that they have. So Troy, thank you for joining us today. Troy Green: Yeah, absolutely. Thank you guys for having me. really looking forward to this. Been looking forward to this for a couple of months now since we started talking about it. So yeah, excited to be here and thank you guys for having me. Megan: yeah, you were one of the first ones on our list of guests that we wanted to have because ⁓ so I guess for those that ⁓ may not familiar if they're kind of new to racing, can you just give us a quick overview of Maximus history and motor sports and then what's your role within the company to? Troy Green: ⁓ that's awesome. Sure, absolutely. So Maxima was founded in 1979, Southern California by Dick Lachine. Dick's son Ronnie was racing motocross at the time. They were looking for a better two-stroke oil than what was currently available on the market. ⁓ They hooked up with an engineer who was one of Dick's good friends. They developed Castor 927, which today is still one of our leading products, one of our most popular products out there. Everybody knows Maxima for our Castor 927 on the two stroke and the PowerSport side. It's got a distinct smell and offers all kinds of performance advantages and stuff. So the company really worked and focused on PowerSports from 79 through about 2010, roughly. And obviously expanded into a lot more PowerSports products over that time. But in 2010, they started seeing the need to possibly expand into the automotive market. So shortly thereafter, the performance automotive side of Maxima opened up with just a couple of guys representing the brand and going out and doing all the legwork. And ⁓ they pounded the ground for ⁓ the first seven, eight, nine years pretty hard and ⁓ did a really good job of pushing the product out into the market with the help of some great teams, which that's one of the things that we're gonna talk about a lot today is how our teams help propel our business. getting in with the right people early on with the automotive side of products really did help push us forward. Getting in with Jason Lyon, Jason has really opened a lot of doors for us and pushed us into markets that would have taken us years and years to get into. luckily having that relationship with Jason and his team has really propelled us on the... on a naturally aspirated side of racing and specifically NHRA Pro stock. ⁓ got a lot of recognition from their success, obviously, ⁓ then expanded, ⁓ we're continuously expanding the automotive line to ⁓ gaps and fill holes that ⁓ left by other companies. And gosh, the straight weight stuff has really taken off for us very well over the last couple of years. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm. Troy Green: But yeah, overall, MaxMod is on a straight up growth trend right now, and we're working very hard to keep that trend moving. Amanda Van Den Elzen: That's awesome. And honestly, like, I don't know that much about Maxima. just know, you know, because Megan's had you guys on board. So I'm really excited to learn about not just the product side, but also how you guys have marketed and positioned yourself. You mentioned that you started really in the motocross and the dirt bikes and things like that. Tell me a little bit more about how that helped you build dominance and how that's is, how is that seated in your business as it is today? Troy Green: Right. Well, like it honestly, it is, it is the card that brings us to the dance. ⁓ honestly, the power sports deal is, is what, what we are known for. So when I walk up to somebody at a drag strip or a dirt track and I say, Hey, you know, Troy for Maxima racing oil, you know, do you know anything about us? And they're like, wait, you the same guys that make like SC one and. Castor 927 and all, yeah, same, same company. Like, ⁓ my man, we've, we've read road dirt bikes and stuff our whole lives. And, know, just started with cars a few years ago. And so it, it really, it's kind of a natural progression guys that rode dirt bikes, you know, as kids and everything else and grew up doing all of that. They really didn't outgrow that their hobbies just changed. They may have moved into automotive stuff. They may have moved into race cars. ⁓ they may have moved into side-by-sides, ⁓ order, but, but they remember, they remember Maxima. from their childhood and their, you know, their teenage years of riding dirt bikes and everything. ⁓ they know that the success that they had with the products back then. ⁓ so that automatically builds confidence in them when they understand that, that's the same company that I've used for the last 30 years or whatever. So it obviously opens up that door of confidence for them immediately. Cause they're like, we've never had any issues with your stuff, you know, so what do you have for our race ⁓ cars? Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm-hmm. Troy Green: So so it makes a very good segue It's a it's a great it's a great icebreaker for a lot of people because like I said There's very few people who at some point have it had some some maximum product in their hand Working on their their their dirt bikes their four-wheelers their side-by-sides, whatever whatever it is. So ⁓ so yeah, definitely it definitely segues into ⁓ Them understanding who we are pretty quickly Megan: Mm-hmm. Amanda Van Den Elzen: all I can think of the with age comes a cage and now you're just following people. ⁓ Megan: That's exactly what I was going to say. Yeah. Yeah. That's what I was going to say too. Cause like Adam, so he's, he's in his late forties now and, uh, you know, he's racing side by side, but he used to race dirt bikes and he's, he loves doing the hair scrambles and the endurance stuff in the woods, which is could be like more dangerous than motocross. Cause you, mean, there's so many times where he's like broken his foot running into a tree or a rock or a stump or something. Troy Green: That's what he's going to be on. Well yeah, absolutely. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Chris did that too. Megan: Yeah, it's so, ⁓ which he's like, he's so good on a dirt bike, but yeah, he's like, ever since we had Henry, he kind of took a, you know, a big step back from that. And he's like, I don't want to get hurt. Troy Green: Yeah, it's interesting how when, ⁓ when kids come into the picture, you start thinking about things, you know, I spent, ⁓ you know, I spent 20 years driving nostalgia top fuel cars, are arguably some of the sketchiest drag race vehicles to drive. adopted our daughter Ava in 2009. I drove in 2010 and shortly thereafter, I kind of went, you know what? I really need to be thinking about this. ⁓ you know, at previously. Megan: Yeah. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Hahaha. Megan: Yeah Troy Green: It wasn't that big of a deal, know, you're gonna catch on fire. It's gonna happen. Those things, it's just all part of it. I don't think I want my little girl terrified, you know, so. ⁓ And I wanna be around, I wanna be able to, you know, watch her grow up and play softball and basketball and all the things that she loved. ⁓ so yeah, it definitely changes your mind a little bit on things when you have a kid comes around, so. Megan: Yeah. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yeah. Megan: Yeah. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yeah. Megan: Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's why we've got side by sides now so we can go race those and still be safe. Yeah. So, Troy, when was it when you joined Maxima? Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm-hmm. Troy Green: So I joined Maxima in January of 21. I had been in a race engine shop here in Norman, Oklahoma for the previous 20, I should write out 25 years. ⁓ So I was ⁓ foreman, ⁓ half owner in the shop, machine work, ⁓ engines, ⁓ of the dyno, tuning engines. ⁓ So ⁓ 25 years, I had my hands in just about every product out there. ⁓ You know, as far as oils and assembly products and everything else ⁓ in about 2016, I would say maybe 17 got introduced to the Maximaline and started using it in the shop. And it didn't take long before it was the exclusive product in our shop. It was the only product that we used as far as assembly products and break-in oils. And it's the oils that we pushed to our customers. And it honestly, it honestly really enhanced our business. ⁓ Moving moving forward with maxima ⁓ It brought me a lot of confidence because I trusted the product I knew what I had seen on the dyno. I knew what my customers had experienced So it was kind of nice to have all those customers on another brand you know for all of those years and Seeing seeing the engines come back seeing the parts come back getting you know reports back from the customer from a race weekend and everything and then the changes that they experienced once we switched to maxima and I got to tell you I mean I I considered myself to be a fairly reasonable engine builder and fairly competent and knew what I was doing and knew my products very well. ⁓ But I got to be honest, oils and that kind of stuff was something that I discounted for quite a while saying, you just need to use something good. ⁓ I didn't realize how much benefit there really was to what I would consider a top tier product, a top tier oil. are ⁓ mind stuff that I just never imagined an oil could do. ⁓ Certain that I had built over and over and over and knew exactly what to expect when they went on the dyno, all of a sudden I'm anywhere from 15 to 25 more horsepower and I didn't do anything. All I did was change the oil and the ⁓ oil up that much power and produced a better ring seal ⁓ and a better job of protecting the engine. ⁓ So after I saw some things happen pretty quickly, I was 100 % sold on the product. ⁓ The engine shop kind of went through some changes over the next few years when we switched to Maxima. I became really interested in Maxima as a company ⁓ and opportunity came along in 21 to become the Midwest sales rep for them. At that time, they didn't have anybody representing the Midwest. They had an East Coast guy and a West Coast guy. So the Midwest was a territory that had largely been left untouched. I knew what the potential was out here, especially after using the product for the previous five or six years. ⁓ I thought, man, I am armed. Like I know the product. I have personal experience with it. I know exactly what to expect when I go into an engine shop. I can tell guys what they will expect to see too. And it's not from hearsay and it's not from something that somebody told me. It's firsthand stuff that I... actually experienced for myself. So starting with Maxima in 21, the Midwest was a pretty barren, like I said, pretty barren territory. And fortunately over the last, gosh, five, a little over five years now, we took the Midwest from a fairly underperforming territory to hopefully knocking on the door of doing a million dollars in this territory this year, just in five years time. So. Megan: Nice. Amanda Van Den Elzen: That's huge. Troy Green: So it has been really exciting to, ⁓ know, cause I got to say that the team at Maxima, our owner, Danny, business manager, Steve, these guys know my background. They know they trust me to carry the brand forward, ⁓ not spend all of their money. I spent a fair chunk of their money, but I don't spend all of their money. You know, the ultimate goal there is to return that, their money back around and make more of it. So, ⁓ but you know, luckily they have trusted me and trusted ⁓ Megan: you Troy Green: you know, the direction that I want to go with things and the diversity that we needed to create with Inside Maxima because we were pretty narrow focused for several years. ⁓ it was time ⁓ really start expanding and moving into other forms of motorsports that ⁓ just hadn't been touched yet. And honestly, that's where a ton of the growth has come is from expanding into other ⁓ of motorsports outside of drag racing. Because I'll say we worked pretty hard on the drag race side of things for the first few years. Megan: Mm-hmm. Troy Green: And, you know, last, probably the last three years, you know, we have hit high, high level sprint car racing pretty hard. So World of Outlaws, High Limits, ⁓ USAC, those series, we have picked up some, I mean, cream of the crop drivers and teams on those, from those series. And, ⁓ and those guys do the work for us. I mean, all I've got to do is get product in their hand and they are, they are fantastic cheerleaders for us. And, ⁓ And they move the needle, there's no doubt. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Megan: Yeah, that's awesome. Well, so speaking of, you know, kind of opening the door and diversifying into those different forms of motorsports. what are the goals or what are you guys expecting to get as your return on investment between drag racing and off road and the motocross sprint cars, even like cycling? I know you guys make products for that stuff too. kind of what are the goals that you guys like to see? Troy Green: We do, yeah, yeah. So, you I would say the goals today are probably different than what they were 10 or 15 years ago. And largely social media has driven that, ⁓ driven that demand to change, ⁓ you know, kind of our perception and what we feel like we need out of a team. Today, it's social media. I need our teams to be driving hard on social media for us, creating brand awareness. That's the biggest thing that I need from my teams. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm-hmm. Troy Green: is create brand awareness. I need you because obviously we are, you know, we're 15 years into the automotive side. We are still in our infancy. We don't have the brand recognition that some of these companies that have been at this for 30 or 40 years, you know, that have a huge headstart on us. We just don't have that history yet. So today what we really do is we lean on our teams. And like I said, we have been so fortunate to grab some absolute world championship. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm-hmm. Troy Green: series teams. are, they do a great job for us. People respect them. People follow them and, and building that they help us build that brand recognition just by using the products, making those social media videos, promoting the products. know, funny thing is when, I got started with world of outlaws a few years ago, I went to Knoxville, one of the biggest races of the year. Walk through there with all of my maxima stuff on, carrying samples of this and cards and catalogs and I mean, I couldn't hardly get anybody to even talk to me, which was understandable. mean, I'm also on the racing side on the other side of it. So I know when somebody walks in my pit and offers up a product I've never heard of, I'm just not that interested. You know, I know what I know and I'm not too interested. And so we kind of took a different approach and looked at sponsoring some cars. And the next year that I went back to Knoxville, I had two or three teams that were running our stuff and very good teams. So people started to recognize the product a little bit, started to recognize the logo. And then by like year three and four, now I walk through the pits at a World of Outlaws or a High Limits race and it's, hey, it's the Maxima guy, hey, Troy. So it has changed drastically just over the last few years. And I don't give myself credit for that. That's not me. That's our teams doing the work for us. And that's just the big part of it. So it's expanding into all of those different markets. The drag race side, Amanda Van Den Elzen: Hahaha. Troy Green: I just feel like the teams that we have there are all absolute home run teams. They do a great job for us on the track. They do a great job for us, you know, with marketing and social media. So drag racing, drag racing is alive and well for us. It's, doing really well, but we are ⁓ also trying to expand into different, different categories of drag racing that we haven't previously gone into. So we're not done with drag racing by any means. We just have a lot more areas that we want to expand into and, ⁓ Big money bracket race stuff is huge. know, how many cars that draws ⁓ so many competitors. ⁓ So we were fortunate this past weekend to have a couple of big winners at the at Spring Fling in Las Vegas. And you know those those kind of deals right that those are just absolute home runs for us. And ⁓ you know getting with the teams. That's everything. It really, really is everything so. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Now, Troy, you mentioned social media as a big deliverable on, you know, the sponsorships that you have with the partners that you do have. I think a lot of our audience is really inexperienced with how to promote a sponsor's product and actually connect with their audience through the posts that they're making. Yes. What would you say, like when you're looking at the social media that your sponsored racers are putting out? Troy Green: Very much so, yes, I would agree with you on that, yes. Megan: you Amanda Van Den Elzen: What does good look like? How do you know that it's good content? Troy Green: Good is, I want good images of the product. let's, know, make it a vibe. And I've had this conversation before, you know, when you're using the product, be aware of what's in the background. Make sure that you don't have a competing product, you know, sitting in the background because we all do. We're not all just locked into one brand. I understand that. You know, there's products out there that, you know, maybe a little more accessible, may have maybe better price points, something like that. We're all going to have other brands of products regardless of who we're sponsored by. But think about that when we're making the videos. Let's make sure and clear that stuff out of the background. Make sure that the product that we're using is, you know, make sure you're in focus. Make sure that that label is recognizable and readable. ⁓ Clear talking, proper use of the product, making sure that we're using it the way that the product was intended to be used so that it's not misleading to somebody. ⁓ That's those are some of the biggest things short we want, know Fairly short videos when we're just trying to push a product out and trying to build some recognition right there We you know We don't want to we don't want these people dwelling on a on a three minute video because a lot of people just They won't spend three minutes to watch a video regardless of how how good or bad it is ⁓ So so that's kind of one of my things is like let's get the video, you know build as much content as we can into the shortest period that we can so that we don't lose our Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yeah. Troy Green: lose our audience. ⁓ But there really is so many aspects to what I see as a successful post. Maybe it's not even a product post. Maybe it is a brand post. So something like that's going to be more of an on track video, cars racing on the track, work being done on the pits, something like that. To me, that's more of a bigger picture. Now we're talking about the brand as a whole, as opposed to concentrating on one or two specific products. So I see definitely different aspects and different levels of posts that are all I got to tell you, I love cars that win and I love our teams that win. That's not the most important thing for me. Most important thing for me is representing the brand and representing the products. That's what's important to me. You're going to win, you're going to lose. It's a whole lot harder to win than it is to lose. So, you know, I don't expect everybody to go out and win every weekend. I love it when they do win. ⁓ But also, you know, the proper tagging, making sure that because our marketing team and our social media team, they're not quite as immersed into motor sports like we are, like our sales team is, you know. I mean, we live and breathe this stuff. So, We understand that, you know, our teams aren't always going to get the hashtags right. They're not always going to get us tagged correctly, but I can go find that stuff because I follow all of our teams and everything. But if you've got a marketing team, that's not really familiar with all of that or a social media team, that's not, they may miss something because somebody didn't post it or tag it correctly. So, you know, our programs that are tracking this stuff didn't pick it up. So we may have missed something really big. That's our problem. That's our fault. We should be doing a little better job of that. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm-hmm. Troy Green: But I think that's an area where everybody should work together and make sure that make sure that tag, you know, you get everybody tagged correctly and posted correctly. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm-hmm. And that helps the racer too. Like cross collaboration helps everybody. Troy Green: ⁓ it does because that's a big deal to me is like, also want my, my racers to perform well for their other sponsors, not just me, because I'm a small part of their whole operation. I need them to perform that well with every one of their sponsors so that they stay out racing and, they don't lose a sponsorship and maybe get sidelined because, ⁓ you know, because something didn't go well. I feel like that responsibility falls on all of us to make sure that all of their social media posts are good because they're representing a lot of different brands. And like I said, we want to keep those guys out there racing. So, you know, it's something we should all work together on. Megan: I love that. And that's something that ⁓ I've heard you say before, when we've been talking just private conversations about the importance of the racers being able to represent their other sponsors as well. ⁓ think that's really key because we don't really hear that from other like marketing directors. ⁓ You know, usually just all about how are you promoting our brand and our company? Yeah. Troy Green: How are you doing? What are you doing for me? What are you doing for me? Yeah. Megan: Yeah, but I love that you're open and like you realize, hey, like we are a smaller part of the program. And so we want to make sure you are professional all across the board and not just if you're working with Maxima. Troy Green: Well, true. And I mean, there is, to me obligation to, and also a little bit of pride to be associated with, ⁓ with some sponsors, some bigger sponsors. ⁓ you know, ⁓ I get little benefit from that because they get to ride their coattails, you know, so I want their stuff to be good because I also get something out of that. You know, it's just because it's, it's maybe primarily focused on that one sponsor for that one segment. Well, that's okay because right behind their sticker is my sticker. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yeah. Troy Green: So I want to see them do a good job for everybody on their race car. ⁓ It just works out for everybody. If they can do good for all of their sponsors, then it's good for all of us. Megan: Yeah, I love that. Okay, so your audience is going to be more other razors, correct? You're not really trying to reach the fans, right? Troy Green: Unfortunately with the products that we have, a power sports driven person, we could probably appeal to you. But if you're a race car person and you're just out to watch the races, and you're going to cruise away in your minivan and you're going to go home and mow your lawn and stuff like that, honestly don't have a lot of product to offer that type of person. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Hahaha Megan: Yeah. Troy Green: So I look at some of that stuff and I look at some of the demographics of different series that we sponsor and, I look at that target audience and it really just, ⁓ not a lot of value in it. ⁓ I'm to use this one as an example. no Kings street outlaws when it was just those series dedicated, you know, without some of the stuff that those guys are doing within NHRA and now moving into like the winter series and running the pro mod races and stuff. ⁓ Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm-hmm. Troy Green: That obviously opens up a different demographic and a different market where it's a lot more racer driven. But when it was street outlaws and no prep kings and that kind of stuff, I mean, that's, you know, that target audience is, it's not really car related people. It's people that are there for the entertainment value of it. And ⁓ so, and we did, you know, we sponsored some cars that were on street outlaws and no prep kings and stuff like that. I didn't look for value in ⁓ Megan: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Troy Green: what I'm going to get from their audience, from the people that watching them. I'm looking at, I want you to go out and whip your competitors using my products so that now your competitor goes, maybe I need to take a look at Maxima. I get my butt kicked every week by Maxima cars. So maybe I need to start looking at some of their products. So that's more of the target audience that I was going after in that series. It was a lot more about getting more teams on as opposed to selling the lady in the stand a quart of oil for her meal, which we just don't have. Amanda Van Den Elzen: How does that affect what racers you choose to partner with? You know, just getting that in front of the right people. Megan: Right? Yeah. Troy Green: It's something that you really, like I said, I am deeply immersed in all forms of motorsports that I am involved in. And I watch religiously if they're on TV, I'm watching if there's something going on, I'm watching these racers and I'm getting familiar with who they are and learning about their crew chiefs, learning about the guys on their team, learning about their engine builder. I will tell you a lot of times, If I got an opportunity, I may not have the room to sponsor somebody. And, you know, I'll just kind of use a new sprint car team as an example. So somebody reaches out, Hey man, we're looking for a little bit of help. it's, you know, it's, the wrong time of year to be doing, to be looking for help. know, but let's say it's July or August. But if I see that they're using an engine builder that I don't have an in with somebody that I've been trying to get to, but I just don't have, I don't have that connection. Now all of a sudden I'd be like, Megan: Ooh. Troy Green: for a little bit of money, I can open a door with their engine builder, you know, ⁓ and get that door opened up because honestly, if I can get in with an engine builder and get products in their hands, I will tell you that I probably convert nine out of 10 engine builders ⁓ just by being able to get a foot in the door and getting products in their hands and then them understanding that they do have a good support network behind, you know, that ⁓ anytime they have issues or questions about product. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm-hmm. Troy Green: that they have somebody that they can reach out to. So, you know, that really just goes kind of full circle all the way back to the customer service side of things. You know, being able to provide a good customer service once you finalize that stuff. But so that's a lot of ⁓ the stuff that I look at. ⁓ Transmission builders, if it's, you know, if this car happens to be using a transmission builder that I just haven't been able to reach yet. So the easiest thing to do, if I can't get the engine builder or the transmission builder, to sample our products and put it in one of their engines, I'll get it one of your customer engines. And then you'll get that engine back eventually and you'll get to take it apart. And you'll either say, it looks way better than you've ever brought an engine that you've ever brought me back before, or yeah, it looks okay. know, whatever it is, they finally have their feedback and they finally have, you know, my product in their hand, you me working in and getting product into that car. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Troy Green: Kind of around them. A lot of them want it. you know, a lot of the drivers and teams want the engine builders blessing, you know, to change engine oils because it's a that's a scary deal. It's a big deal, you know, but rarely do I have any pushback, you know, like that. But that's a that's something that I look at a lot is what can that team do for me? ⁓ What doors can they for me? ⁓ And so so there's you know, ⁓ I hate to I to do sponsorship stuff after you know, after about January or so, because your budgets are set and you're pretty well tied up. But when opportunities are good, you got to jump on them and take them. like I said, when something like that comes up and I see that I've got an in to jump in with a new engine builder or something, then I'll work something out and get that taken care of. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm-hmm. I like that. I like that a lot because I think a lot of our audience still thinks that a sponsorship just means a sticker on the car and selling to the people in the stands. So. Megan: Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Troy Green: They do exactly there is so much networking that goes on behind sponsorships You know that that sticker is one little tiny piece of the puzzle ⁓ there is and unfortunately, it's hard because we don't have a You know, we don't have a sponsorship department so it's kind of left to ourselves team to develop those relationships get the teams that we want to sponsor and ⁓ is so much networking ⁓ that goes on sponsorships that that sticker is one little tiny piece of the ⁓ there is ⁓ and unfortunately, ⁓ Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yes. Troy Green: It's very time consuming to spend that time researching teams. Because even when somebody comes to me looking for something, got to go research that team. I've got to figure if it's somebody that I don't closely follow and I don't know much about them. ⁓ So it takes time out of ⁓ doing things for my other customers, ⁓ buying customers. ⁓ But it's important because that's where growth, to me, that's where growth is coming from. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yeah. Troy Green: A lot of people will tell you stickers on cars don't sell anything. It absolutely does. When you go at it the right way, it absolutely does. And it's just partnering with the right people that can take you to the next, open that next door for you. ⁓ And for the first couple of years, ⁓ I sort of followed a trend where I thought about sponsoring races and series. ⁓ and, and, ⁓ know, tracks and that kind of stuff was where we needed to be. ⁓ but you know, that ultimately ends up being a better on offense. It doesn't really open doors for us. ⁓ it may pick up a few racers that feel loyal to the series that want to, you know, support the sponsors that sponsor their series. ⁓ but it was a really slow, slow movement. and for the money that was invested, I felt like I would be better off to go and help the racer. Let's keep the racers racing. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm. Mm-hmm. Troy Green: The series obviously need all the help they can get to, but the series isn't anything without a racer. So I kind of refocused my priorities and we pulled back on some of that series sponsorship and track sponsorship stuff and kind of reallocated that money back to our racers. And I got to say, mean, the growth really has done very well. I don't think that was a bad decision whatsoever. And there will come a time where I think we may need to be banners on fences again. ⁓ But today, I think we got to start a little bit lower. We got to start a little more at the bottom and start building from the bottom and build up. And that's something that just kind of had not been done yet. ⁓ So that was kind of why I decided we need to back up and go about three steps backwards before we're ready for banners on fences. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm-hmm. I think ⁓ this is so interesting because we had Sarah Ottinger from AMSOIL on our podcast earlier. Yes, and it's really interesting because the type of product you guys are selling is so similar, but your target audience and the development of the brand recognition is in very different places. Troy Green: Right, I remember us talking about that a little bit. Uh-huh. I would, yeah. And I would see, could definitely see that with a company the size of, of Amsoil. ⁓ You know, they've done their marketing. They have, they have their audience. Now it's all about maintaining for them. You know, and seeing some growth, obviously every business needs to see growth, but I would, you know, just guessing a little bit, I would say that their focus probably is on maintaining. We're not ready to maintain yet. We are still, we are still ⁓ deeply in the growth side of things. And so. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Troy Green: So that to me is where our focus really needs to be is on growing brand awareness and still just building that name. ⁓ And like I said, for the first two years or so, I was pretty disappointed with what I saw. And it's no fault of anybody's. It was just us really starting in the wrong place. ⁓ So it has been very encouraging to redirect that and see so much positive come back out of it. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Hmm. Yeah. Yeah, I hope the racers that are listening right now stop and think about like, why is it that Maxima and Amsoil are approaching these in such different ways? And what kind of questions can I ask the brands that I'm working with so that I know which ways they're approaching their marketing? Troy Green: different ways. Yeah. Yeah. Right, exactly, exactly. And I will tell you from an outside looking in, it probably looks like we throw a ton of sponsor dollars out just to try to build the brand and try to gain traction. That really is not much truth. There's not much truth in that. ⁓ We work on a pretty small budget. ⁓ A lot of my teams that work really, really hard for me are on a discount. They're still buying product, but it's on a deep discount. ⁓ Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm-hmm. Troy Green: Sponsorship takes a huge part of a yearly budget and we understand that and we've got to see growth to justify putting that money back into it. ⁓ This year is a little bit of a tight year for us because the company is moving. We're moving our location from about seven buildings into one building. ⁓ So things are tightened up a little bit this year. I didn't have ⁓ money allocated to where I could actually grow some of my free product teams like I do each year. ⁓ You know either either Boost a little for the teams that have done good for us or bring on new product teams So most everything that was added this year ⁓ Was just were teams that were on a on a discount ⁓ And but I got to be honest with you And I don't want it to sound like this. I don't want it sound like I'm doing this for, you know, for this reason. But when you put a team on a, on a discount program, they tend to work harder for you because their, their ultimate goal is to get on some sort of free product. So I will tell you my, my discount teams provide me some of the best content and some of the, some of the hardest working. I've got a couple of Sprint Card teams out there right now, but it's about every other day. They are posting just. the most creative and just the best content. And it's like, these guys are not even getting free product and they're working this hard for me. And my ultimate goal is always when I put somebody on a discount program, my ultimate goal is you work for me and you help me grow the brand and it's gonna pay off for you. I will get you on free product. And I appreciate the ones that stick with us and stay patient with us. ⁓ Because like I said, we are... We just, our marketing budget just is not that big. ⁓ know, the overall size of the company is pretty good, but the automotive side ⁓ is a pretty small portion of that. So we understand that we can't get, we're not able to be allocated, you know, a big chunk of that sponsor budget just because we're a smaller part of the whole picture. So each year, if we can just grow a little bit and contribute a little bit more, ⁓ you know, then that helps our cause down the road. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm-hmm. Troy Green: to be able to bring some of these discount teams on to a free product deal. So like I said, I really appreciate those guys and how hard they work for us ⁓ and the patience that they give us on these deals. So luckily the product, they don't have to worry about it. They know when they get the product in their hand, they've got the best product that they can possibly use. So I don't worry about losing them to quality. I don't worry about losing them to another brand really, because once they use it, They're pretty well sold and I know that I'm gonna be able to keep those teams and keep feeding them and keep everybody happy that way. Megan: Yeah, well, and usually the teams that, you know, like how you said, like they're they're getting the discount and it's usually maybe their first sponsorship that they've had or kind of first partnership. Yeah. So I bet you have a lot of younger kids that you're working with to especially, you know, coming in with the junior dragsters. And I know for us, like once we had a partner with our junior program, like we were we're loyal to them for the rest of our lives, as long as Troy Green: Correct, yes, that a lot, yep. Amanda Van Den Elzen: you Troy Green: Absolutely. That's it. That's it. Yeah. Megan: as long as there's still a deal there available. So do you have a lot of younger racers that you work with? Troy Green: I I do. I, I, I've got some of the greatest kids, ⁓ all the way down, all the way down to, I've got a kid in Texas and, I believe he's either five six years old, ⁓ runs a cage cart. ⁓ And I'm telling you what this kid, his name is Hayes Johnson and can absolutely wheel a race car. ⁓ Amanda Van Den Elzen: ⁓ so he's little. Troy Green: And he's, he's just, he's a great kid. He's well-spoken for a five or I have to check. He's either five or six years old, his, his winter circle interviews. mean, he nails every sponsor. And I mean, he is, he is phenomenal. ⁓ got a couple of kids on the West coast, ⁓ Cole Croft moving out of cage carts and, into big, big sprint cars this year. ⁓ Cole, I believe is 14. ⁓ got a really good following on social media has. Megan: Aww. Troy Green: tons of His dad came out of sprint cars, so he's got a lot of connections ⁓ that world as well ⁓ Kyle Larson and Paul Silva. And so all of the right people are intertwined in that. And then ⁓ got a kid ⁓ out of Seattle area, Northwest Washington, ⁓ drives for Rudy and Racing. ⁓ Hillier, 360 driver of the year a couple of years ago. ⁓ moving into 410 stuff ⁓ some this year and I mean an absolute wheelman I mean he can he can wheel a race car and it's really important to me to get in with some of these younger racers ⁓ Get them get them attached to a brain just like Megan said, you know You I might be I may be one of their first two or three sponsors What I want them to remember is that I was there from day one Amanda Van Den Elzen: you Troy Green: And don't forget me when you turn into Kyle Larson or whoever. And I realized I can't, we can't always follow them to the bitter end, but I want to be there for those kids and I want to help them reach their goals. And I mean, that's our next generation. That's where everything is coming from. So I think it's extremely important to focus on kids and the youth coming up. ⁓ And I feel probably a little. ⁓ a little more sympathy towards a kid that's getting started. ⁓ I picked up a 12-year-old out of Lawton, Oklahoma, ⁓ ⁓ and late models. ⁓ absolutely wild to see a 12-year-old out driving these full-body race cars around with grown men and putting it to them. ⁓ fantastic. ⁓ I really do enjoy ⁓ helping out the younger kids. ⁓ The micro deal has done really well for us and that's strongly populated by younger kids, the micro scene is. so it's been really good to jump into that and help out some of these younger kids. I really do, really do enjoy that. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Now with the youth racers, are your expectations or your goals for partnership different than they are with the adult racers you partner with? Troy Green: not necessarily. ⁓ you know, there may be, there may be a little more grace given, ⁓ you know, kind of depends on who's doing their, their social media and who's doing their stuff. But I got to tell you, most of these kids, ⁓ you know, especially if they're early teens, they understand the social media world better than we do. So, so I don't have to worry too much about, know, what they do. ⁓ you know, like, like my little, my little guy, Hayes Johnson down in Texas, ⁓ Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yeah, probably better than I do. Megan: Yeah. Troy Green: his parents and grandparents do a great job of getting his social media stuff out for him. ⁓ so I would say, no, I really don't have a different expectation. The dollar amounts are equivalent to what we're doing with professional teams and stuff like that. So my expectations are also there with those kids. Like I said, I do offer them a fair bit of grace because I do understand that they are still kids. ⁓ this may not even be something they want to do three years from now. So I don't really push and I don't want it to turn into, I don't want it to feel like a job to them. I want them to still enjoy it and not have all the obligations and have had that pressure of ⁓ having to perform and everything else. So, ⁓ like I said, I do offer them a little more grace probably. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yeah. Megan: Yeah. Well, that's well said too, cause I know like just in my experience racing with the juniors, yeah, by the time kids turn 14, 15, 16, if they started when they're eight, you know, they're probably, they're ready to move on to other sports and, you know, focus on school and all that other stuff. So they probably don't stay with it. Troy Green: Yeah, exactly, exactly. And that is something that's kind of hard to pinpoint is what direction a kid's gonna go. You can see it in some of these kids, Levi Hewler, for example, Levi's going to the top. I mean, we're gonna see Levi in a championship car at some point. I have zero doubt. He is focused and he's all about it. So I don't see him. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm-hmm. Troy Green: Two years from now going, I think I just want to play soccer. You know, don't think that's going to happen for Levi. So, but yeah, that's something that does play, play in into what I look for in younger racers. look for a kid that, ⁓ you know, even if they're doing really well right now, but I don't see that they're going to, you know, carry on for the future. I'll still take care of them, you know, in the, in the, in the, in the meantime, and ⁓ you just kind of realize that the outcome is going to be a little different than what it will be for some of the others, but it's the same for adults, you know. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Troy Green: Adults are the same way. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yeah. Now you've kind of talked about, sometimes you're in for the long haul with these racers. Sometimes you recognize that's not necessarily beneficial for you or for their program, right? What is it that you look for when you're like, this is going to turn into a great long-term partnership? Troy Green: can usually tell, I would say within the first month of sponsoring a team. I really do. Yes. When they get their first order, that first post on social media that's tagging Maxima will tell me a whole lot about what to expect from this team. The ones that are super excited, know, show on a pallet full of oil that just showed up at their shop and man, we got stickers on everything and here's our shirts and here's our hats. Megan: ⁓ really? Mm-hmm. Yeah. Troy Green: I'm like, this is, these guys are true hashtag team Maxima. You know, that's, that's, that's the way I look at that. And then I see guys that just, you know, don't really post much on their first order and might tag us at their first race or something. I'm like, well, that's, that's about all I'm going to be able to expect from this team. Um, you know, I can push them a little bit, but it's obviously already not in their nature to, you know, to be good, strong cheerleaders for us. So. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yeah. ⁓ Mm. Troy Green: I can't coach them. can't, I can't turn them around. can't make them do it. And I, you know, it's kind of unfortunate because you see some teams that will push one product really, really hard and you get your, get your hopes up. You're thinking they'll do the same for us. Well, they just don't, you know, and maybe it's because their other product, uh, you know, came with cash or came with something, something bigger or better than what I can do. um, you know, if, if that's your aspiration, you got to work for it. It's not a given deal. You know, I want to see you. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm. Troy Green: you know, give back what you feel like you got in value from me. And sometimes it just doesn't, it doesn't work out that way. And, and that's just, that's just human nature. ⁓ I don't fault anybody for that. And it's, it's just all part of the game. So. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm-hmm. Megan: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Amanda Van Den Elzen: I really like the way that you phrased the phrase, the value that you think you got from me, because I think that sometimes racers really underestimate the value that they're getting and the value that they're providing. They're way overestimating and there's a mismatch there. Troy Green: They sure do. It's sometimes, well, I will tell you a big part of this and I hate it because it's such an ugly thing and it's such an ugly word, but jealousy. I mean, it comes down, that drives a big part of this. And especially in the stages we're at right now where we're growing quite a bit as far as teams that we're adding. And like I said, those teams are on discount programs. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm. Troy Green: So I may have a guy that was, that's been on a discount program with me for a year. Well, all of a sudden now he sees two more people in his class show up, you know, with stickers on their cars. Well, their automatic thought is, well, I'm still on a discount. I bet that guy's getting free product without doing any research or having anything to back that up. Now all of sudden they're jealous. So they don't realize that that guy's, that guy's got the same product and the same Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm. Troy Green: the same sponsorship level that you have, but you know what? He's really proud. That's why it looks like he's getting so much more because he promotes us. He's doing what he should be doing. And you're sitting back here, you're bitter because you don't think you got enough. You know, you guys are getting the same exact thing. This is very revealing to, to my racers. I got racers that work really hard for me on discount programs and I got bitter racers on discount programs that feel like I didn't get what I should have got, you know? Well, they don't understand how budgets work and how my hands are tied. I get a certain amount that I use each year. And I'll tell you, I haven't cut anybody yet. All of my teams I bring back every year ⁓ because even if it's a team that maybe hasn't worked super hard for me in the past, but has done a good job, I want to continue with them because I know they're going to get better and better and better. So I don't... I can't hardly think of a team that I've dropped. I don't know that I have. I've had some move on and pick up sponsors from other products and stuff, you know, and drop us. But I don't think I've ever dropped anybody. And I'd like for people to know that. I just need some effort and understand that we are one team. We are team Maxima. So I don't like the jealousy between teams. It's better for all of us. The more our teams can help us grow, Amanda Van Den Elzen: Hmm. Troy Green: it's more beneficial to everybody because the bigger budget we got to pull from, well, that gets dispersed to everybody. Everybody's budget goes up. Everybody gets more if we all work together. But going against each other and getting jealous and dumping our product sponsor because I feel like Joe over here got more than I did. So now I'm to go against you and I'm going to put another brand on my car because I'm mad at you. That's not... That's not everybody pulling in the same direction. And, and that's what I really would like people to get with this is that this is team building. This is a team. This is not one team under one canopy. This is, this is multiple teams under a huge canopy. That is team Maxima. I want us to all be pulling in the same direction. ⁓ because like I said, the better we all do, the better it is for every one of us. So the more that goes in my pocket, the more that goes in their pocket and the more that goes in their race cars. So. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm-hmm. Troy Green: So it's something to me that's extremely important and we should be thinking about this as a team and how we carry this team to the next level. Megan: Mm-hmm. Well said. Amanda Van Den Elzen: And I'm just going to take a wild guess here, Troy, based on the fact that you're willing to come on our podcast and talk about this stuff. I'm going to just guess that if somebody wanted to talk to you directly about this stuff, that you'd be open to that too. You know, you're not going to turn down one of your racers. Troy Green: 100%. ⁓ I mean, my socials are wide open. My phone number's out there. You can find me anywhere. So absolutely, absolutely. Amanda Van Den Elzen: And instead of, you know, quietly being bitter, these racers could be just talking to you and building a relationship and saying, hey, Troy, you know, can next year look bigger? What can I do to make next year look bigger? Right. Troy Green: Exactly. Exactly. Communication is everything. I mean, that's everything. probably the root of more evil than money is, you know, lack of communication because we assume too many things when we don't communicate. ⁓ You know, I could have kept a few racers if they just would have asked me, you know, just talk to me instead of just, ⁓ you know, making assumptions and thinking that they understand what's going on when they really don't know the big picture. ⁓ Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yeah. Megan: Mm-hmm. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yeah. Troy Green: So yeah, absolutely, would love for people to reach out and ask me those questions directly. ⁓ There's not a lot of secrets out there, there really isn't, there can't be. So we've got to be open and we've got to be transparent. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm-hmm. Megan: Well, I love that you said that. So do you have any other examples of some red flags that you've seen from racers who are seeking sponsorships with Maxima? ⁓ Troy Green: Oh, for sure. Yeah. If I can go back and look, you know, let's just, let's just say through their social media or it's somebody that I've just followed, you know, for a while. And if I see, if I see sponsors change on those cars and I see it change year after year and it's, you know, then I see that there's not a lot of loyalty there. They're obviously out there. Amanda Van Den Elzen: This is about to be the longest segment of this episode. Megan: You Troy Green: for the benefit of themselves to get the moat. They're not interested in growing a brand for somebody and helping somebody build their brand. They are focused on themselves. ⁓ And so that one to me is a big red flag. If I see somebody that's been on, know, brand A for the last 10 years, and all of a sudden now they're knocking on my door, I'm like, ⁓ well, that's a pretty loyal team. I'm interested in talking to them ⁓ because they've obviously have a reason to. be looking after a 10 year relationship with somebody, know, something isn't working for them today. ⁓ They've been loyal, but something has changed. So let's have that conversation and see if there's something that I can offer, you know, that will fill that gap that has obviously been created or whatever their situation is. So that to me is one of the biggest red flags. I, one of the other big red flags, ⁓ when a team comes to me that says, I've been supported by this product and this company for 10 years. They've given me this, they've given me that, they give me this. Well, this year they cut me. I'm looking for something different. There's certain situations that I look at inside that. If that company is still operating and that company still offers the same products that you've raced on and trusted for the last 10 years, 15 years, whatever it is, ⁓ if that product hasn't changed, if it's just the relationship that's changed, ⁓ How come you're not going to support that company that has supported you for the last 15 years of your racing career? So somebody that gets dropped by a sponsor that immediately jumped ship. Well, I kind of want to know the whole story there, you know, because I don't want you to do the same thing to me. ⁓ when something better comes along or whatever happens, ⁓ I'd like for you to think that, you know what this company took, took good care of me for the last 10 years. ⁓ I'll spend a couple of years, you know, maybe buying at a discount from them or supporting their company. But in the meantime, I'm going to be looking at helping myself because we all have to be doing that. It's just how we approach it. It's how we go at it. when I go to, PRI is a good example. mean, there are fully sponsored teams that are coming to me looking for a better deal. And I just, I won't do it. I absolutely will not do that. If they're Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm-hmm. Troy Green: If they're looking for a better product that I can, that I can, I can, you know, understand that. But when it's coming, looking for a better deal, I'm not, I'm not that guy. I'm not going to take, I'm not going to steal somebody else's sponsorship away from them. I'm not going to do that. That's not, that's not, I've had this conversation with other, ⁓ other oil reps and ⁓ because it is kind of a dirty market out there, but I don't go after teams that have sponsorships. ⁓ Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm-hmm. Troy Green: The majority of the teams that we convert that come from other brands, it's all because of ⁓ how a product performs. That's 99 % of how we get our teams is on product performance. And I won't turn that down. I will not, but if somebody's fully sponsored and they've got no problem with their product and everything else, they're just wondering if I can do more than brand A could for them, not interested. That's horrible. That's terrible. So yeah. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yeah. Troy Green: But yeah, the red flags are all over the place. Amanda Van Den Elzen: So ⁓ my husband, Chris I, live firmly in the off-road world and ⁓ where Megan has joined us, which is exciting. ⁓ So short course, side-by-side racing, all of this is gaining traction, especially ⁓ Troy Green: Yeah. Megan: Yeah. Troy Green: It really is, especially out, well, I won't say especially out here. seems like it's everywhere. ⁓ yeah, it doesn't seem to be regional, but it seems to be coast to coast just about. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yes, yes, so it's- Yeah, in our series, you know, we're starting to get out West even again, where short course hasn't even happened for the last five years or so. And you see these little regional pop ups coming up too, which is super exciting just to see the growth of the sports. Yes, yes. So how is Maxima approaching that growth within short course and off road racing and what opportunities do you see in that space? Troy Green: Okay. Yeah, to see it grow. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. So I will tell you on the West Coast, we focus a lot on off-road racing on the West Coast. Not so much the side-by-side market, more the trophy trucks, the big trucks, that kind of stuff. ⁓ But again, it's sort of like looking at sportsman racers versus NHRA pros. I'm not gonna do much with a pro. It's not gonna get me a lot of recognition. I wanna go back where there's volume. I wanna go back where there's... Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yeah. Troy Green: 200 people that entered the event and how many of those people can I get and can I convert? So my take on that is it is something that we absolutely have to start looking at a little bit more closely in the future because I see how much it's growing and we have an absolute killer line of side-by-side products, all the way down to oil change kits and Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yeah. Troy Green: you know, race transmission fluids and the engine oils, shock fluids, all of this stuff. You know, we have a, we have an absolute perfect line to, ⁓ carry the side-by-side market out. And one of the challenges for us is side-by-side market falls into our automotive category because it's four wheel. So it, Power Sports team doesn't do much on with side-by-sides or any four wheel off-road type. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm. Megan: Mmm. Troy Green: Prod vehicle so that's left up to the automotive team. There's only three of us So and for me, you know, I've got I've got drag race. I've got sprint cars I've got dirt modified late models micros cage carts drag boats ⁓ I Cover all of that. So that's that's pretty much me and then a little bit of side by stuff with Megan Thank God. She's there to carry me along. You know help me out with that stuff, but Amanda Van Den Elzen: Hahaha Megan: you Troy Green: ⁓ I really have to look at what markets I physically can expand into with my time and what because it does not do me any good to expand into a market that I can't go and represent it in person some way or another, you know, I make sure that I get to sprint car races. I make sure that I get to, know, obviously the drag race is natural. I'm going to be there anyway, but ⁓ it's important to be at those at those races and those those events that you're that you've got cars or vehicles participating at ⁓ because again, If you're not there, it sort of has the banner on the fence effect. ⁓ Well, I see a sticker, but I don't know much about it. But if you see a sticker and you see people in Maximus shirts and you see maybe a table with some products set up and some catalogs, well, I guess some information, you that's deal that has to be built from the ground roots. It has to be built from the bottom up. ⁓ And like we've done with the drag race stuff, the sprint car stuff, it takes time. It's ⁓ probably Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yes. Troy Green: two to three year project. ⁓ Unfortunately, I've got some series that are healthy enough to sort of stand on their own without me having to be there. The Sprint car deal is very close to that. ⁓ So as soon as those things get opened up, then I obviously look for the next market that we need to be going after. And obviously we've got a great head start with Megan jumping into this stuff and everything. that's what I look for is a head start. Where do I have a head start somewhere? And right here is perfect. And the fact that there's handful of this stuff right here in my backyard that I can get to pretty easily just again, makes more sense. central Oklahoma. Yeah, yeah. So dead middle of the United States basically. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Where are you at, Troy? Okay, okay. Megan: Yeah. So I keep trying to get him. tell him he needs to come out to Wheatland to the champ race. Cause he need to see the big trucks, see it Chris race, all the side-by-sides. Like you are going to get hooked just like how I did. ⁓ Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yes. Troy Green: I really, really do. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yes. Troy Green: Yes, yep, yep. I'm telling you, that's the reason I'm not coming because I can't afford to buy one. And I'm gonna want one and so is Carter. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Hey, we have a two-seat truck. You don't have to buy it. Megan: Yeah. Yeah. Yes, you need you can ride along. Troy Green: Give me the schedule. I'm an easy end. So, but no, honestly, you're exactly right. That is a market that we fit very well into and we have to be going after it because it is becoming extremely popular. So it would be even better if I competed in it. Megan: Yes. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yes, ⁓ man. Yeah, and even the desert stuff you mentioned with the trophy trucks and whatnot, Chris unexpectedly ended up racing at the Mint 400 a couple of weeks ago. we were out in California finishing the build on Chris's new race truck and the builder that we were working with, he got a phone call on Monday. The race was on like Friday, Saturday, right? Megan: Yeah. Troy Green: Did you really? Okay. Yeah. Yeah? Amanda Van Den Elzen: He got a phone call on Monday that said, Hey, do you want to come drive our trophy truck? And he's like, Chris, I know we're supposed to be finishing your truck, but like, what do I do? Yeah. And Chris is like, we're going to the mint. You're driving a trophy truck. And so on Tuesday, when we finally were like, okay, we're going to just go spectate, you know, it's a five hour drive to get out there. We've got our camper. We'll go out. Troy Green: Shoot, you can't miss this. Megan: Yeah. Troy Green: you Amanda Van Den Elzen: And on Tuesday I posted out on Facebook and Instagram, was like, we're going to be at the Mint somewhat unexpectedly. Like where's the good places to network? You know, what should we do while we're out there? We've never attended this race before. And Wednesday morning, we're leaving Wednesday evening, of course, to go out. Wednesday morning, I get a ping from ⁓ Troy Green: Yeah. Amanda Van Den Elzen: mutual friend that says, need a navigator in the 1600 class. Do you or Chris want to get in? And so I'm like, Chris has all of his safety gear here. I guess we're going racing. like, so I'm texting everybody. I know, I know I'm texting everybody that I know that's going to be there like, Hey, you know, like what, where should I network? How do I even watch this? I don't even know. And now, now I'm on my own because Chris is in a race car, you know, and Troy Green: Man, what an opportunity. Yeah, yeah. Amanda Van Den Elzen: I had texted Matt Martelli and I was like, hey, cause he's been on our show before, before this was even an official show. So I know him from that, just talking about expanding footprints and off road. And so I texted him and he responded back. said, we have 535 teams registered for this race, which is like a record high. And being able to see even like now that I've been out there, I recognize it's not a super spectator heavy sport, but, but like, Troy Green: Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Amanda Van Den Elzen: To see the growth in that sport not even being super spectator heavy is so cool. And then you turn around and you come into our spectator heavy sport of short course where people can drink on a hill, you know. It is so cool just to see this whole sport from desert to short course to these little regional side-by-side pop-ups. They're all just exploding and it's so cool. ⁓ Troy Green: That's it, where you can pack. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Megan: Yeah. Troy Green: Yeah, yeah, yeah, it is. Amanda Van Den Elzen: The aftermarket OEM stuff is following, you know, and that's where... Troy Green: ⁓ for sure. Well, I mean, it's the same with us because I mean, we're developing, we're developing products right now for for race side by sides. As matter of fact, we just we just launched a ⁓ new transmission fluid ⁓ for side by sides just a couple of weeks ago. And, you know, if that market wasn't there, we wouldn't be doing that stuff. We would not be developing products for for that, you know, for that market if we didn't feel like it was an area that is ⁓ that is growing and something that needs Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yes. Mm-hmm. Troy Green: needs our attention. ⁓ honestly, I'm excited about it. I'm excited about, ⁓ you know, cause I mean, I've been a race car guy my whole life. And even though you kind of consider a side beside a race car, it's still a whole nother world from my perspective. And I'd love to get, get immersed in that and, ⁓ and, really, really learn it and learn who the players are and, and, and hopefully I can keep myself from trying to buy one. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yes. Yeah. Good luck. Good luck with that. Well, we'll get you out to Wheatland. Megan will drag you out to Wheatland and once you're hooked then... Megan: Yeah, yeah. Yes. Yeah, you'll. Troy Green: Exactly. ⁓ I'm excited about that. really, really want to get up there for sure. So, yeah. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yes, then you gotta make it out. Yes, then we... I think you'd have to probably, ⁓ there would be some terrible things you'd have to do to get Chris out of the driver's seat, so. Megan: Yeah, you and me can get right in the two seater. Yeah. Troy Green: Oh yeah, do I get the left seat or the right seat? I'm not opposed to many things. Just give me the list and I'll see what I do. Megan: Yeah. Amanda Van Den Elzen: ⁓ Yes, but once you make it out to Wheatland, you're gonna get hooked and then we gotta get you out to Fall Crandon up here in the Northwoods, because that is an adventure in its own. ⁓ it's like a festival. 100,000 people show up. It's wild. It is crazy. Yeah. Megan: Yeah. Yes, yeah. Troy Green: Really? Yeah. Megan: Yeah. Yeah, it's awesome. Yeah, well, it's kind of like if you put Brainerd and Indy together. Yeah. Yeah. Troy Green: real. ⁓ okay, okay. I got the scale now. Wow. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yeah, yeah. And then they bring out like a whole bunch of different sports, too. Like they'll bring out the Ultra Four's. I race a Beetle at Fall Crandon every year. I mean, they'll like bring out some crazy stuff this June. They're bringing out the same track, but they do like a spring fall thing, right? But they're bringing out the electric rallycross cars and the non electric ones, which will be really cool to see. It's going to be very interesting. Troy Green: Okay, yep, yep. Megan: ⁓ yeah Troy Green: Cool. Okay. Yeah. Interesting. I did not know that was even happening. So yeah, how cool. Megan: Yeah. Yeah. Well, it's it's the same weekend as Indy, though. So you won't you won't be able to come to Craned, but you can come to Wheatlands. Yeah. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm-hmm. Troy Green: Well, maybe someday. Yeah. So is that in Wisconsin? that where that is? Okay. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. How cool. I bet that is a blast. Yeah. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yeah, Crandon, Wisconsin. Yeah. It's crazy. The scale, like you don't recognize that a small town of like 2000 people in the Northwoods of Wisconsin can suddenly, yes. Megan: Yeah. Troy Green: Can turn into that. Well, and that's kind of the way, that's kind of the way like the Knoxville nationals, the world of outlaws race in Knoxville, Iowa is that's a town of like 1500 people. Well, he turns into a town of 150,000, you know, in August. And it is the, is the wildest site to, to, because the teams don't pit at the racetrack. They pit all over town. So Walmart parking lots, hotel parking lots. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yeah. Megan: ⁓ okay. Troy Green: They are everywhere. They pull into the track to race that night and when the race is over, they go back to their parking lot and unload cars and they service and work on them out in parking lots. you can drive all over town and see, I mean, you can see Tony Stewart stuff out in the parking lot. You you pull up and get up, go talk to them. And I mean, it's, it's about as, about as fan friendly as like NHRA could be. mean, guys are out in the parking lot working on race cars and they don't mind stopping and talking to you and telling you what you want to know. Megan: I didn't know that. Troy Green: So it's wild though to see those little bitty towns just blow up like that for those events. I mean, no doubt, motorsports is strong and it is alive and well right now. mean, it's, you you occasionally have worries about, you know, what direction everything is going, but, you know, the car counts that we've already seen at some of the races this year and everything else tells me that, things are pretty healthy right now and people are, people are full steam ahead. ⁓ Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yes Yes. Megan: I agree. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yeah. Troy Green: And it's a little, a little worrisome in this climate. We're, you know, we're looking at, you know, potential looming price increases and all kinds of stuff. And it's, know, it's not a very good feeling right now, but the economy seems to be supporting it and the racers seem to be supporting it still. So, ⁓ you know, we, we understand that we're in ⁓ a, in an entertainment industry and we're in a, ⁓ you know, a little bit of a frivolous industry, but luckily these, these guys and these teams are, you know, are dedicated and there doesn't seem to be any pullback anywhere. ⁓ that's exactly what it is. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yeah, it's because we're all crazy though. I mean, we know that the economy is tightening down and we're like, but race cars. Megan: Yeah. Troy Green: I'll just eat two less meals this week so that I can afford to go race again. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yeah. Megan: Yeah, seriously. Is there ⁓ anything on horizon at Maxima that's coming up this year? Troy Green: I would say the move is the biggest thing right now. The thing that's, that everybody is focused on is, the move. ⁓ I not sure that it's going to happen by the end of this year. ⁓ the building is still, still under construction. ⁓ but I think the ultimate goal is to try to be in by the end of the year. ⁓ and that's going to be, that's going to be a big benefit to everybody. ⁓ it'll get all of our, all of our stuff under one roof, ⁓ right now where things have to move, you know, around about a two city block. footprint between warehousing and manufacturing and shipping and it'll just make things way more efficient ⁓ and overall be a better benefit to everybody in the end. ⁓ And we'll open us up for ⁓ hopefully some cool projects coming up starting earlier next year, maybe some reformulation of some products that we've got some ideas on and the new products right now that we have out are ⁓ are performing extremely well and it's exciting to see how the new products are rolling out and the excitement for them. I would say nothing specific, but everything is exciting. Everything that's going on right now really is pretty exciting. The growth that we're seeing, the new teams that were gathering up and the new engine builders that we're being exposed to. I'm really excited for Maxima's growth right now and the direction that we're direction we're going and the direction we're pushing. you know, something that, one of the other reasons that sponsorship to us is so important to invest in is because, you know, like Megan said, we do have bicycle, we have power sports, we have automotive, all of those work from a pretty small social media and marketing team. So they get pulled in different directions all the time. So we don't always get, ⁓ you know, what we want from marketing because maybe they're working on a power sports project and can't get, can't get away to do something for automotive or whatever. That's where our sponsorship and our teams really picked up, pick up that slack for us. It's easy to lean on some of our teams that do, you know, that put out good content. ⁓ you know, if we need something on social media, ⁓ it's easy to reach out to our teams and have them, have them produce a video for us or, or do that work for us. ⁓ a company that has a smaller marketing team really does benefit. from sponsorships as you should. The way they should be used is leaning on them for marketing opportunities and marketing, ⁓ know, advertisements and that kind of stuff. that's why we put money into sponsorships is to kind of bolster our marketing department. Amanda Van Den Elzen: and the way that you guys are approaching sponsorship is different than a lot of the other people we've talked to where the sales team is handling the sponsorship side and the marketing team is kind of removed from that. ⁓ Troy Green: Yeah, well, they we've looked at kind of transferring that to to marketing. My biggest issue with that is everything out here is a personal relationship. It's some sort of a personal relationship. No matter how much you remove me from that picture, I'm still going to be their contact. So even if they have been instructed, this is who you need to contact that Max. They don't have a relationship with him, so they're more comfortable talking to me. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm-hmm. Troy Green: ⁓ and that, to me, that's extremely important. Personal relationships are everything. I don't, I don't hardly have a team out there that I don't have, you know, some sort of connection to some sort of personal relationship, ⁓ somebody that I can, you know, I probably have every one of my teams, you know, saved in my phone as contacts and I can text any one of those guys right now. And, know, and they know who I am. So, and that's, to me, that's extremely important. You take that personal relationship out. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yeah. Yes. Troy Green: Now it's cold and it just doesn't have that same feel. ⁓ But that's a big part of it to me is these guys want somebody real. They want somebody that they see at the racetrack. They want somebody that, I got teams that reach out and ask my advice on engine building stuff, because they know they can trust me. And I like that. I want them to have that kind of confidence in me and what I tell them. ⁓ I want it to be real for them and I want them to know that what they're going to get from me is the truth and my real world experience. So I think that's one reason that we do keep the sponsorships associated to the sales team because those relationships are built by the sales guys. So we're the ones on the road, we're the ones that are out there, we're the faces of the company. So ⁓ I think it's best if we keep it going that way. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yeah. Yeah. And one thing that I think a lot of times people miss when they're thinking about the different functions of marketing and sales is that marketing is a sales function. Marketing is driving sales. It's not just out there so that people know what this company is. It's so company is selling product. so. Troy Green: No, that's it. Exactly right. Exactly right. Yeah, that is a sales tool. Marketing is a sales tool. When it's used properly, it has to be a sales tool because in our world, marketing is responsible for putting together our catalogs, ⁓ any of our sales flyers, all of our social media content. They're in charge of really kind of gathering the content from our sponsored teams. ⁓ When we get reports like from Megan, when we get reports from them, they go through those and they pull out what they feel like is something that can be used further down the road in a social media post or in a catalog or a flyer or whatever. So they are a ⁓ very integral part of a company's growth. Marketing is very, very important. And ⁓ that's why I like to be nice to my marketing people. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm-hmm. Megan: Hehehehe Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yes, and as a racer, it's good to know what's going on in both. One of our biggest sponsors, our biggest sponsor is Nexentire and we've worked with them for going on six years, I think, five, six years, something around there. I don't know, it's just ongoing, so it's hard to know when a year starts. Troy Green: Yeah. Right. Amanda Van Den Elzen: But we started with the marketing team and it took us a couple of years to get really well integrated with the sales team. But now that we are, it's like, man, we're being leveraged in such cool ways to do like trade shows. you know, it's like, there's a whole different aspect of working with the sales team because they are the people that are talking to the customers, you know. Troy Green: Really? ⁓ that's awesome. Yep. Yeah, yeah, absolutely, absolutely. Some people love that and some people are like, I just want my product, please. I'll make some social media posts, but don't last too much. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yeah. true. That is true. There are the people who are happy with status quo. ⁓ Troy Green: Yeah. Very much so, very much so. just want to race, I want to put my helmet on and I just want to race. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Yes, that's okay. They're probably not the people listening to this podcast. Megan: Mm-hmm. Troy Green: That's right. Yep, exactly. Megan: Exactly. Yeah. Amanda Van Den Elzen: at the end of our with our guest, Troy, we always ask guest the same question. So I'm going to throw it at you here. If ⁓ you could give grassroots racers ⁓ one piece of advice based on what you've learned in this space, what would be? Troy Green: Okay. If their ultimate goal is to have a career in racing to carry them forward ⁓ and be respectful, that's the biggest thing. Be respectful, be honest, be wide open. ⁓ Keep your goals in check. Don't set them so big that you disappoint yourself. ⁓ Make goals that are attainable. ⁓ Count your blessings because there's no matter what level you're racing at. There's somebody else that would give anything to be at the level that you're at. Don't ever think that you're at a level that, you know, I just want to get bigger. I just want to get bigger. Also think about bigger and what it comes with a whole lot more responsibilities, sponsorships that, you know, require work. ⁓ it's sometimes you sometimes getting what you wanted isn't always what you wanted. It's, it's a little, it's a little different. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm-hmm. Yes. Megan: Mm-hmm. Troy Green: It looks a little different than what your perception is. So, ⁓ you know, if you're having a great time and you're really enjoying the series that you're racing in, but you've got aspirations, aspirations of stepping up and doing something bigger, think about the consequences of, of, moving up and how quickly you can be replaced as you move up. do it the love. mean, that's, that's honestly what it really comes down to is do it for the love of what you're doing. ⁓ make that, make that your priority first. but for, for younger ones, ⁓ a hundred percent, you know, be straight up, be honest, ⁓ have integrity. ⁓ that will carry you so much further, ⁓ be respectful to your peers, to your other racers. you know, Megan knows that I've been fortunate enough to be, you know, associated with one of the best, the best alcohol funny car racers. to ever step in an alcohol funny car. And I've seen Sean transform from, you know, ⁓ a 20 year old kid to a 44 year old man. And he's been through every aspect of it. He didn't do it right all the, all along. He got the important parts right. You know, there was also obviously some, failures and some stuff that, know, that didn't go the way he wanted it to, but Sean got everything right. And it's put him in a position today to. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Mm-hmm. Troy Green: to be where he's at. And Sean's always been a respectful racer. He races straight up. ⁓ He is a man of integrity and he is just exactly who you think he is. That's the things that people look for and that's the stuff that'll carry you into the future. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Love that. That's a great takeaway. Megan: Yeah, so good. All Amanda Van Den Elzen: Alright, well we're gonna close for this episode. Troy, thank you so much. Troy Green: Okay, this has been great. appreciate you guys. This was really good. Megan: Yeah. Troy Green: well, thank you guys so much. I really this. Looking forward to seeing it come out and ⁓ sharing it with everybody. Megan: Yes, thank you. Amanda Van Den Elzen: Absolutely, and to our listeners, we release new episodes every other Thursday, so we'll see you in just a couple of weeks, but until then, we love you, bye! Megan: Mm-hmm. Bye everybody. Troy Green: Bye, thank you guys.