Business of Motorsports with Budweiser's Steve Uline: "There Wasn't Going To Be a Bigger Deal in My Career."

The Dale Jr. Download

Kelley Earnhardt Miller is back for another session of the Business of Motorsports with longtime sports marketing executive Steve Uline. With the recent announcement that JR Motorsports had secured the rights to the DEI-Styled number 8 and plan to run the iconic Budweiser red paint scheme at the South Carolina 400 in a new partnership with Anheuser-Busch, Kelley wanted to chat with the mastermind and driving force behind the memorable sponsorship campaign. Steve fills listeners in on his journey to becoming a sports marketing director, which involved stints in the service industry before coming on at Anheuser-Busch as a director for Bud Sports TV. He admits that he applied for the position in sports marketing several times before finally getting the job, a process that took eight years. He and Kelley relate on the value of exposure and experience in the workforce and how that prepares you for any situation encountered in professional settings.

Steve explains how the Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Anheuser-Busch partnership came to be, which took the place of a longtime deal with Hendrick Motorsports. After the Bud car at Hendrick was underperforming, the company began looking for a new driver to get behind and realized that Dale Jr. was making his way through the NASCAR ranks at a rapid pace. Kelley and Steve talk about how Dale grew into the role as a brand ambassador and how his level of stardom elevated Budweiser back into relevancy in the beer market. Steve shares several hilarious stories from the Bud-8 days and still considers the campaign to be his finest achievement in his sports marketing career.