The saying “Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday” is a long-standing belief in the automotive industry. It captures the view that winning a race, especially a prominent one, can boost sales and buff up the entire brand. In essence, taking the checkered flag becomes an adverting campaign that fuels demand by everyday drivers looking to capture some of the glory and performance.
We see it all the time from Chevrolet, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Porsche, Cadillac and Audi, among others. But for them, race cars also serve as rolling laboratories. Features we take for granted including disk brakes, fuel injection, turbochargers, aerodynamics, active suspensions and paddle shifters started at grueling races such as the 24 hours of Le Mans, 24 hours of Sebring and Daytona 500 to eventually make their way into their bread-and-butter cars and trucks.
