Motorsports industry veteran Scott Duncan recently joined Parella Motorsports Holdings (PMH) as chief partnerships officer, overseeing all business development and partnership efforts for SpeedTour. This growing racing property encompasses Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA), Trans Am presented by Pirelli, Prototype Sprint Series Association (PSSA), Formula Regional Americas Championship, F4 United States Championship, Ligier JS F4 Series (JSF4), and International GT (IGT).

With a 32-year history of working with teams, agencies, tracks, and sports properties, Duncan brings extensive experience across multiple series, including NASCAR, INDYCAR, IMSA, and Formula 1. His track record includes securing high-value partnerships and sponsorships.

Duncan began his motorsports journey with a connection to NASCAR royalty. He was just 15 years old when his father, Jim Duncan, accepted a role as executive vice president of sales and marketing at Charlotte Motor Speedway at the invitation of track president Howard "Humpy" Wheeler. The two were college roommates in the early 1960s.

The family relocated to North Carolina from Los Angeles, where Jim Duncan was head of Reynolds Metal Company's recycling division. The teenage Duncan worked his first race in 1987, selling tickets. Excited by the racing and the business, he told his father he wanted in and started on the ground, quite literally.

"I was doing maintenance tasks like cutting grass, painting, and moving equipment afternoons after school," he recalled for PRI. While studying at Western Carolina University, Duncan continued working at the track from May to October, eventually managing the Winner's Circle. Duncan also drove the Mello Yello show car for Coca-Cola, a track sponsor, at various races. After graduating in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration, he gained broad motorsports business experience with Champion Spark Plug and then Talladega Superspeedway.

In subsequent agency roles, Duncan developed multi-year, seven-figure sponsorships for major racing organizations. That included bringing General Mills and the Coca-Cola Racing Family into NASCAR. Later, for 13 years before joining PMH, he ran his own consulting firm, working with top-tier motorsports clients.

PRI: You've seen motorsports partnerships up close from an early age. Can you share how those have evolved since you started in this business?

Duncan: Today's motorsports entertainment environment is very cluttered, full of options. It's a real challenge for smaller groups to go up against Goliaths like F1 with billions of eyes, and NASCAR with hundreds of millions with its Fox Sports deal. NHRA has about 40 million fans. Those are huge numbers compared to us as a series.

PRI: What is the main challenge for smaller series?

Duncan: The smaller groups must be creative to offer strategic deliverables that will see an immediate ROI. That's what everybody wants today. Before they even sign, they want to see five deals in my hand, including business-to-business or business-to-consumer. They want measurable ROI against their key performance indicators [KPIs] and say, "I'm putting in $20, I want $100 back." It's a challenge, and it is a moving target daily.

PRI: What kind of media strategy are you implementing?

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