NASCAR personality, Mike Calinoff, has been working with and mentoring young drivers for most of his career. As the spotter for NASCAR Champion, Matt Kenseth, he has visited victory lane numerous times -- including the 2009 Daytona 500 -- and knows what it takes to be a successful racer. Calinoff has worked with many young drivers over the course of his career including NASCAR Nationwide Series dr
iver Kelly Bires, K&N Pro Series East standout Sean Caisse and ARCA Racing’s Brandon McReynolds, the son of SPEED TV’s Larry McReynolds. Mike is also serving as the spotter and driver coach for Roush Fenway’s Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (2010 Rookie of the Year) in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and and F1 star Nelson Piquet, who is transitioning from open-wheel to the ranks of NASCAR. With a focus on career development strategies, combined with NASCAR-level public relations and brand-building, Activ8 Development is a full-service agency and consulting group, which can provide every resource a young driver needs to be successful. One of the dynamics that sets Activ8 apart from other development programs is the direct connection to NASCAR. Over the past 27 years Calinoff has forged relationships with car owners, teams and management groups. With thousands upon thousands of hopeful drivers throughout the country looking to make their way to the big leagues Activ8 Development can offer no guarantees. However, they can provide all of the resources and knowledge to give a young driver the best possible chance. As part of the program, Activ8 Development will provide tailored career, public relations, branding, social media and sponsorship procurement plans.
>> Career Development – Activ8 Development will:
Consult with drivers and parents on the progression of their career. Provide career options based on experience and financing. Facilitate team affiliation. Aid in preparing a racing budget.
>> Image Development – Activ8 Development will work with you to develop best practices in the following:
Image projection
Fan interaction
>> Media Training– Activ8 Development will provide you with:
Understanding of how to work with media
Interview training
Appearance direction
>> On-Track Coaching– Activ8 Development will work with you to:
Develop transitional skills (i.e. dirt -> asphalt )
Foster beneficial in-car/team communication
Improve pass timing
Generate useful car feedback
Facilitate test sessions and analysis
Provided by NASCAR spotters & drivers
Build on- and off-track mental focus
>> Sponsor Procurement Training– Activ8 Development will help you to:
Understand sponsor relations protocol
Prospect
Build networking and relationship building skills
Strategize ways to maximizing sponsor relationships
>> Social Media– Activ8 Development will teach you best practices for social media in the following:
Logistics
Protocol
Building social media community
>> Off-Track Development– Activ8 Development will build tailored programs to build:
Fitness
Nutrition
Time management
Character
>> P***c Relations– Activ8 Development will:
Distribute Post-race press releases
Activ8 Development collective pre-race releases
Targeted media outreach (local, regional, national)
Compose feature/editorial stories, when applicable
Handle all media inquiries
Seek media coverage (radio, etc.)
>> Branding– Activ8 Development will:
Build a website that aligns with your brand
Establish charity involvement
Create an identity package: logo, business cards, trading card, hero card, etc.
