Life in the Fast Lane

Southern Elevator sees success with unique sponsorship.

Southern Elevator Co. is now in its second year of involvement with NASCAR and has increased its partnership with NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Ryan Ellis for the 2024 season. Southern Elevator has committed to multiple primary and secondary sponsorships on the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro, which Ellis drives, throughout the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series seasons. 

Southern Elevator was a primary sponsor at Richmond Raceway in March for the ToyotaCare 250 and will be a primary sponsor of the Martinsville Speedway in November with a possible third race in the mix, according to Southern Elevator’s Chief Operating Officer Steve Phillips. Additionally, Southern Elevator will have multiple secondary sponsorships in Ellis’ first full-time season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. 

Southern Elevator first partnered with Ellis in the 2023 Xfinity Series season as a single-race secondary sponsorship. The partnership then grew to multiple primary sponsorships at Darlington Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Roval and several secondary sponsorships at other tracks in the Southeast region.

With experience working for speedway tracks that work with NASCAR, Phillips knew the deal with Ellis was a good deal for the company financially. He said that supporting Ellis makes sense because Ellis fits the Southern Elevator brand: He’s home grown and has had to fight for what he needs and fight for his business. “He’s just a big advocate and a generally nice person,” Phillips said, adding that Ellis is respectful to his partners and fits in the Southern Elevator wheelhouse by focusing on customer service and promoting his brand. Ellis said: 

“It’s so exciting whenever we can partner with people like they have at Southern Elevator. Our goals, values and vision are aligned — each person makes a huge difference on our race team, just like they do at Southern Elevator. Seeing that we both are on similar journeys in the business and sporting world really creates a compelling storyline that the Southern Elevator group sees when they come to the racetrack. Hopefully, this partnership continues to grow, because it’s one that we’re very proud of.”

Southern has been able to use the passes from the sponsorship to bring customers to the races and get to know them in a socially relaxed environment. Ellis will even come and spend time with the group before the races. “Having an Xfinity driver come and sit down with you for an hour is unheard of,” Phillips said. 

Southern Elevator also had a potential employee reach out to the company after seeing the sponsorship, so it has helped with recruiting, as well. Ellis also has a strong social media presence. Beyond this, Ellis’ car with the Southern Elevator branding has been featured on numerous merchandise items that fans create, which have nothing to do with the elevator business. “We were able to advertise on a national scale, and that was attractive to us,” Phillips said. 

Ellis said: 

“It’s amazing to see how far this partnership has grown. Like many of our other partners, Southern Elevator’s employees have been amazing in their support of our team. I’ve been very fortunate to meet many of their employees throughout our partnership, and you can truly see that they’re much more than a company; Southern Elevator is a family, much like Alpha Prime Racing.”