We’re pleased to keep it in the Copart Family with our continued sponsorship of the O’Dell Racing Team, which includes two long serving teammates, as part of our commitment to supporting and celebrating our people.
In addition to our high-profile partnership with Euroformula Open driver Louis Foster, we’re always seeking opportunities to provide local sponsorship opportunities for our own people.
The O’Dell Racing team, consisting of Dean O’Dell (SVO Vehicle Technician, Wootton Head Office), his father Steve (SVO Foreman, Wootton Head Office) and Dean’s brother Adam, have been competing in various stock car racing championships for over 41 years as a family.
The team first received sponsorship from Universal Salvage back in 1985, which Copart continued to support after acquiring the business in 2007 and still do so today. Steve and Dean are both long serving Copart teammates with over 45 years combined continuous service between them.
Team O’Dell spend all of their spare time travelling around the country racing their Copart-sponsored cars. Dean races in the very competitive non-contact Hotrod formula, whilst Adam races in the very popular stock car racing where contact is permitted, creating plenty of thrills and spills on the track.
Competing at World, European, British, and local levels – including races in Ireland, Scotland, and South Africa – they have certainly created plenty of awareness of the Copart brand over the years!
The last couple of years have proved challenging due to the pandemic, with covid restrictions, dates and events constantly changing. With many sporting events forced online during this time, Team O’Dell and many of the other stockcar teams had their car replicated on a stock car game on X Box.
Steve O’Dell, the team’s manager, said: “We were really excited to be approached earlier this year by an individual who was trying to launch a stock car racing game on X Box. They wanted to replicate Adam’s stock car for the game, complete with Copart branding, which we knew would provide fantastic PR for both O’Dell Racing and Copart. We’re delighted that the X Box game has now been realised and is available to download, exposing the Copart brand to a whole new audience!”
As well as virtual racing, Team O’Dell are now also back on the track in the real world, in a series of domestic races in which they hope to accumulate enough points to be invited to race at major championships events throughout the year.
Stock car championship events typically take place over one evening or afternoon, so the competition is always fast and furious!
Steve said: “As with all outdoor events such as music festivals and sports, we now have to squeeze in a year’s worth of dates into the remaining months of the year. We were delighted to be back behind the wheel again this month. Dean raced his stockrod in Ipswich and his 2lt hotrod for the first time at Aldershot, and Adam braved the wet weather to race his stockcar in Devon.”
The May Bank Holiday weekend was a busy one, with Adam racing his stockcar in Skegness and Dean hitting the track in Ipswich with his 2lt hotrod.
On Saturday 5th June, Dean is racing his hotrod at Lochgelly, Scotland for the European Championship. He’ll then be driving through the night to support his brother Adam at the National Saloon Stock Cars English Championship at Aldershot on Sunday 6th June.
“Copart was happy to continue this long-term partnership after acquiring Universal Salvage and we have supported O’Dell Racing for 14 years now. Despite being a rapidly expanding global business, it’s still very important to us that we retain our ‘Copart Family’ culture and this partnership with two of our loyal, long-serving teammates is a perfect demonstration of how Copart cares about its people.
Over the years, O’Dell Racing has provided Copart with fantastic brand exposure locally, nationally, and overseas, so we’re delighted to help support their love of stock car racing and celebrate their achievements.”
Mark Godfrey, Director of Strategy, Marketing, and Copart Automotive divisions