A Few Sponsorship Ideas for NASCAR

In what may be the most unlikely sponsorship deal in NASCAR, Kim Kardashian and Sephora will adorn the No. 36 car of Mike Bliss in Vegas on Sunday.

The car, which will trumpet Kardashian's new fragrance, features Kim's upper half amid a palette of pink ... lots of pink.

This curious collaboration and the new Toyota Sponsafier promotion (an online contest which lets fans design a potential paint scheme for their favorite Team Toyota driver), got me thinking ... what other potential sponsorship deals are out there? And which driver should be paired with which sponsor?

Here we go -

Denny Hamlin - If you saw Speed TV's "Trackside" at Fontana, you may have noticed that Hamlin was sporting a ball cap emblazoned with the word "Butter". And even though Darrell Waltrip didn't know why Hamlin was touting America's favorite biscuit spread, fans in the know did. "Butter" is the name of Hamlin's latest business venture - his new Charlotte night club - which opened a few weeks ago. With all this butter going on, I vote for Country Crock to pony up and sponsor the No. 11 car. Then Brad K could sport an "I Can't Believe It's NOT Butter" car. Just sayin'.

Tony Stewart - When asked by the media last week about Twitter, Smoke made it pretty clear that only people who have no lives Tweet. I beg to differ, but I'd like to see that happy little bluebird all over Stewart's car at an upcoming race. And if Twitter doesn't work out, what about "Just for Men"? Smoke IS getting a little gray in the beard - and if the much-advertised men's product is good enough for Emmitt Smith, why not Tony?

Juan Pablo Montoya - At the risk of taking a 2009 joke too far, Montoya would utterly endear himself to NASCAR fans if he hit the track with a Taco Bell paint scheme. After the taco/Bob Griese "controversy" of last season, this sponsor/driver pairing would be a hoot.

Michael Waltrip - Mikey has the best looking head of hair on the NASCAR circuit (although Clint Bowyer is giving him a run for his money of late). Why not celebrate Mikey's fabulous coiffure with a little bit of hair stuff on the hood? Just the name of Herbal Essence's new line "Tousle Me Softly" would give Waltrip something to tweet about for at least a week ...

Jamie McMurray - I'm really not a mean girl, but sometimes I can't help being a little snarky. After McMurray's crying jag in Daytona's Victory Lane ... and in the post-race press conference ... and on the post-race show on Speed, I'm thinking McMurray should work out a partnership with Kleenex. That way, the next time he won a big race, he wouldn't have to cry into a towel. Bless his heart.