2025 Polkadot Motorsports Program w/ Global Ambassador - Conor Daly

Proponent: ConorDaly22 - 1s2mPd5i2ryNafYRVueZbKSnYFtjbTspaTssjctDWL3qNJT Beneficiary: Pure Proxy Multi-sig 3/4 -15EkQkoFNoRXh84Q6rRWBE74KMxFJXk69wNhZd2rAwhVnPHZ (signers: ConorDaly22, LearnPolkadot, The Phunky One, Stallings_AG)

Funds Requested: $7,500,000 (approximately 1,652,900 DOT using the 7-day average price of $4.54) as of 8/20

Overview of Ref 514: Milestones of Ref 514 to Date:

• Professional Races in Four Motorsport Series (Indycar Series, ARCA Series, NASCAR-Xfinity Series, NASCAR Truck Series)
• Indy 500 7.7B+ Potential Reach / $74M+ Ad Value Eq
• Race day Viewership Indy 500 - 13.3 million viewers (an 8% increase), a 18.15 household rating, and a 54 share
• Conor Daly + Polkadot - PR / Awareness KPI’s (Source: MuckRack): AVE (Ad Value Equivalency) $146.46M thru Aug 1st
• Special Guest and Judge at EasyA Hackathon representing Polkadot at Harvard
• Special Guest at Polkadot Booth and Official After Party for Consensus
• MVP underway with V-Brick and DeepBlock Labs with plans to demo a DRM (digital rights management) on Polkadot for AWS at conference
• Polkadot vetted by Toyota Racing Development as one of two preferred blockchains they would recommend partnering with

Looking ahead to 2025 x Beyond:

Summary of 2025 Proposal

• Full NASCAR Xfinity Season with Polkadot Brand Ambassador, Conor Daly
• Premier Indy 500 Primary Sponsorship with Polkadot Brand Ambassador, Conor Daly
• Dedicated 3-layer PR x Comms Team
• Elevated and dedicated Hackathon event around the Indianapolis 500
• Strategic b2b hospitality program to elevate opportunities within multiple sectors of the community
• Dedicated business enhancement team to continue brokering new projects within the community. Example:
• MVP underway with V-Brick and DeepBlock Labs to demo DRM (digital rights management) on Polkadot for AWS in Indianapolis conference in October 2024
• Polkadot vetted by TRD (Toyota Racing Development) as preferred blockchain partner
• Halo (XBOX) <> Dot Play
• Sam Hunt Racing <> Polkadot
• Dreyer and Reinbold Racing <> Polkadot

Key Performance Indicators of 2025 Proposal More races, more opportunities

• 34 dedicated race events in some of the biggest key North American markets for Polkadot ecosystem
• Strategic initiatives to activate both at track and beyond each weekend for community education x entertainment standards.

Layers of opportunity

• Community and developers are everything in Polkadot.
• We want to position a unique service offering that is not limited to the brand name but highlight the series of stakeholders and companies working within it
• Host bi-weekly community calls for touch base meetings, insight, and open pitching for integration into the program.

Key data of note:

• ~62% of NASCAR Fans feel loyal and purchase with their Favorite team or Driver’s Sponsor(s)
• NASCAR is ranked #1 in fans who surpass all other major US Sports in trying, consciously support, or recommending their US sponsors
• NASCAR ranks #1 in fan loyalty to sponsors
• More than any other US professional sport
• NASCAR delivers more 18-34 year old television viewers than any other US sport

REF 514 In Action:

B2B Opportunities Since the approval of REFERENDUM 514 on 02/20/2024, the collective team has made a conscious effort to listen, learn, and put the information to use for the community by making vital introductions to some of the worlds largest companies.

At the time of submission for this referendum, the collective team had had on-going talks for tech integration with both races teams, Sam Hunt Racing (SHR) and Dreyer and Reinbold Racing (DRR). Both teams are dedicated to find ways to integrate the Polkadot technology into their race team and both race team principals will join us on AAG to discuss over the course of the next few weeks.

To date, the team continues to have discussions and optimism with the likes of some of the biggest companies in the world which include but are not limited to - Toyota Racing North America, vbrick, Car Gurus, Evolve Lubricants, and Cyclum Renewables in collaboration with companies such as BlockDeep Labs, UNIQUE Network, and Polimec as well as community members in the ecosystem.

Our dual priority is to use this program to remain a critical unlock for the community's potential and welcome the right stakeholders to allow the Polkadot network to thrive for on-going and continued success and adoption.

Hackathons Through an evolved relationship with the UNIQUE Network and EasyA, our team has fostered an on-going relationship to best understand the technological progress that is being made at the ground level.

Our team attended EasyA’s Polkadot Hackathon at Harvard University on July 26th, 2024 to judge and curate a keynote alongside the likes of Angie Dalton (Signum Growth + Dot Play) and Luca Auet (Developer Relations Papermoon).

For 2025 we have begun the intention of building a first of its kind sports centered Polkadot hackathon event around one of the biggest events in racing in 2025. Global partners and stakeholders as well as local university liaisons will all be a part of this unique experience that continues to drive first hand development projects into the ecosystem of motorsports. Winners will be offered an apprenticeship for 3-6 (PAID) months to work on a unique project for the second half of the 2025 race season.

**Gaming ** Dot Play’s goal is to build a pivotal hub for gaming in Polkadot, by focusing on the highest growth genres within gaming, building essential integration tools, and by providing sustainable business development support.

After becoming a Polkadot Ambassador in 2024 with the passing of REF514, Conor Daly was asked to sit on the Games Advisory Committee of Dot Play and he gladly accepted. Being a big gamer himself, in Conor’s free time he regularly streams on twitch and has already offered up his relationships in the gaming realm to the Polkadot community.

Marketing/Branding 

PR / Awareness KPI’s (Source: MuckRack):

• AVE (Ad Value Equivalency) $146.46M

• 1,735 Unique Articles (4,643 Total Articles with Group Syndication) - Stories that mentioned Conor Daly across racing disciplines thru Aug 1st 2024

• 119.48k Article engagement (number of shares, comments or other interactions with stories)

• 186 shares by journalists (shared a link on X/Twitter)

• Article summary/breakdown

Key Media Opportunities

• Conor Daly: Racing Journeyman Navigates The High-Speed World Of Motorsports Forbes
• Conor Daly 1-on-1: On racing IndyCar and NASCAR at Indy, being real on his podcast FOX Sports
• Conor Daly was Indy 500's biggest mover Indy Star
• Conor Daly had a "tremendous time" in NASCAR Xfinity oval debut at IMS Motorsport.com
• Conor Daly on Indy 500 qualifying, why he’s not in a car full-time, and more NY Times
• What's Polkadot, and why is it sponsoring Conor Daly's Indy 500 car? Indy Star
• Polkadot’s Indy 500 driver Conor Daly: ‘My dad holds DOT, how mad is that?’ Coin Telegraph
• Polkadot To Sponsor Daly’s DRR/Cusick Entry at Indy 500 IndyCar.com

On-Track Performance

• Indycar Series Indy500 - Top10 Finish 10th / Lead 23 Laps
• **ARCA Mid-Ohio - Top10 Finish 8th (1st time in ARCA race)
• **NASCAR Xfinity IMS - Top15 Finish 14th (1st time on NASCAR oval)
• **NASCAR Truck Kansas - 09/27/24
• NASCAR Truck Miami - 10/26/24
• Nitrocross RallyCross - TBA

** Elevated on+ off-track opportunities provided outside of REF514 (est value $305k does not include secondary costs like travel, meals, hospitality, etc. All paid x brokered out of pocket by Athelo Group and Conor’s PSA fee to date)

• Additional NASCAR Truck Race - Kansas - $100k
• Additional NASCAR Xfinity Series Race- IMS - $150k
• Additional NASCAR ARCA Race - Mid-Ohio - $55k

Professional race team photography and video of Polkadot sponsored vehicles and Conor on-track provided to the community for marketing use.

CD Insider Pass Integration

• Consensus - Polkadot Booth - Autograph raffle
• Harvard Hackathon EasyA- Polkadot Crew Jersey & Autograph raffle

Appearances

• Consensus (Polkadot Booth, Exiled Racers, Closing Party)
• Harvard Easy A Hackathon Judge
• Wrigley Field Chicago Cubs (threw out first pitch with Polkadot cap)
• Featured in 100 Days to Indy - CW Network/Netflix
• Multiple TV & Radio Interviews
• SpeedStreet

Detailed Breakdown of the 2025 Polkadot MotorSports Program:

• Program is activated against 4 E Principles - -Entertainment - elevated on-track global motorsports program for awareness -Evolution - taking existing principles of program to work against enforced kpi’s and b2b opportunities -Education - targeting the questions of “what, how, and why” through experience and content driven moments -Engagement - build more bridges for community members (prospective and current) to actively participate and ideate against boundless innovation
• Discounted full season primary sponsorship package for the NASCAR Xfinity Series (33 races) Season with Toyota backed team, Sam Hunt Racing and a discounted Indianapolis 500 primary sponsorship package with Dreyer and Reinbold Racing in 2025.
• Full time Driver for all races will be current Polkadot Ambassador and Professional Motorsports Driver, Conor Daly.
• Program includes exploring Polkadot tech integrations with both race teams as well as Athelo Group for integration across all sectors of business where applicable.
• B2B and BD Strategy - dedicated staff support and support board for ongoing b2b efforts through the course of the calendar year to continuously explore business development opportunities on behalf of the community.
• Educational developer focused marque event to take place during the month of May for the Indianapolis 500 in collaboration with local universities
• Custom designed and limited edition merchandise drops exclusively to $DOT token holders throughout the calendar year. DOT token holders will get first access and a 25% discount on all merchandise drops.
• Elevated PR pitching and tracking throughout the course of the calendar year. Proposal includes advanced software and staff hours to continue and bring non-endemic focus to the global market through cultivated and meaningful moments beyond the track with Ambassador Conor Daly as the main voice.
• Full content team dedicated to at track content and beyond for Driver Conor Daly that will include dedicated assets both subliminal and targeted on the topic of Polkadot

NASCAR Xfinity Series — Sam Hunt Racing (previously raced with in Polkadot branded car)

• 33 races from February 2025 - November 2025
• Primary Sponsorship of all races
• Custom firesuit, gloves, and helmet all season long
• Custom car design(s) that can vary between races
• Opportunity for custom diecast cars to be made for purchase
• Custom hospitality package of VIP passes, tickets, and options for suites at select races
• 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Race Schedule (2025 not published yet)

 

**Indianapolis 500 — ** Dreyer and Reinbold Racing (same team as previous year)

• 1 race part of the IndyCar Series - The Indianapolis 500 - Date 5/25/2025
• The biggest single day sporting event and biggest motorsports race in the world
• Recap of 2024 race - lead 22 laps and garnered over $71M in ad value eq.
• Primary Sponsor inventory for the #24 Polkadot Chevrolet in the Indianapolis 500
• Polkadot fire suit, gloves, and shoes for all on-track activities surrounding the Indy 500.
• Custom Polkadot pit crew apparel / fire suits throughout the month of May
• Custom press announcement at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with car reveal
• Commercial licensing and marketing fees for league, team, and driver
• Entertainment Marketing and PR Agency Fees

Commercial Sponsorship Fee to Race Team (NASCAR + IndyCar) - $5.8M

Exclusivity against competitors within the space blockchain and web3 (category) Monthly social media promotions Monthly appearances at community based opportunities and events

• Separate Ambassador budget set aside for travel to global key events
• Decoded, Consensus, Token2049, Web3 Summit, etc. Driver Ambassador PSA Fee x Exclusivity- $750k (half retained in $DOT)

Marketing activation / management / PR / social / travel / merchandise - $265k Teddy DAO Donation Type1 Diabetes - $35k Agency (Athelo Group) contract guarantor, contract and rights negotiation - 6.7% Community Administration Fee - 2%

TOTAL: $7.5M USD

• Anything over 2% of ask in DOT/USD value at time of payout era period would be returned to the treasury

What is the NASCAR Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a Cup Series event scheduled for that weekend.

The series was previously called the Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series in 1982 and 1983, the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series from 1984 through 2002, the NASCAR Busch Series from 2003 through 2007, and the NASCAR Nationwide Series from 2008 through 2014. Since 2015, it has been sponsored by Comcast via its consumer cable and wireless brand Xfinity.

The Xfinity Series typically features about 33 races each season, running from February to November. These races occur across a wide range of venues in the United States. The series enjoys significant media coverage, with broadcasts on major sports networks and extensive digital content across social media platforms. This exposure helps promote the series and its drivers, attracting fans and sponsors

Xfinity race fields have varied in the number of drivers. Prior to 2013, the grid size resembled its Cup counterpart with 43 cars per race; that year, it shrank to 40 maximum cars. The field was further reduced in 2019 and 2020 to 38 and 36, respectively.During the 2020 season, fields were temporarily increased to 40 cars again to accommodate part-time teams that were otherwise unable to qualify due to such sessions being canceled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

What is the Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, in the largest sporting facility in the world, with more than 250,000 grandstand seats and the ability to host close to 400,000 on race day throughout the entire property, thus setting the world record for being the World's largest single-day sporting event, according to the World Record Academy.

For over a century, 33 drivers have raced 200 laps around the legendary oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, determined to come out on top. The Indy 500 is a timeless tradition and practically a month-long holiday for fans, friends, and families. The two to three weeks of practice and qualifying leading up to the Indianapolis 500 is known in racing circles simply as "the month of May". In early years, the track traditionally opened for practice on May 1 (regardless of the day of the week). This practice dated back to 1911. Whether it is practice and qualifying, the pit stop challenge, the snakepit, the community concerts, or the “greatest spectacle in racing” the month of May is packed with events for everyone.

More than 1,000 journalists and photographers are credentialed to cover the month of May and the Indianapolis 500 each year. NBC Sports, IndyCar's flagship network, reported that in 2024 the Indianapolis 500 drew a record 13.3 million viewers (an 8% increase), a 18.15 household rating, and a 54 share.

Who is Conor Daly Conor Daly is one of the most beloved figures in the American professional racing landscape – having competed in the NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR (Cup Series, Xfinity and Truck Series), GP2 Series and Nitrocross, amongst other pursuits. Just as popular off the track, the Indiana-native appeared in Season 30 of The Amazing Race and has engaged in a variety of activities that have highlighted his social personality, including hosting the prominent motorsports podcast, Speed Street, as well as appearing in the 2024 NBA Celebrity All-Star Game in his home state.

Daly is one of just 29 drivers in history to have raced in the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500 within the same year. With a tenth-place finish in 2019 and a sixth-place finish in 2022, he led most laps, was a pole sitter and finished on the podium at the Indy 500 in 2021. In 2023, he defied all odds to qualify for the NASCAR Cup Series’ Daytona 500, racing on Floyd Mayweather’s The Money Team (TMT) Racing. He also became the first driver to compete in both NASCAR and IndyCar on back-to-back Texas weekends. In 2024, Daly joined Niece Motorsports to drive the No. 44 Chevrolet Silverado, and competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at IMS driving the No. 26 Polkadot GR Supra for Sam Hunt Racing. The son of Formula One, CART and IMSA driver, Derek Daly, Conor started racing go-karts as a 10-year-old – grabbing two championships and Junior Driver of the Year recognition.

Conor Daly Ask Me Anything: https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1ypKdpavPdqKW

Who is Athelo Group We’re an athlete-marketing agency built around one simple observation: When brands and athletes team up for an effective partnership, everyone wins.

We jumped at the opportunity to work with Conor since 2019 after being introduced to him by a fellow NASCAR client so we could help further immerse our agency in the world of IndyCar Driving while also allowing Conor to take advantage of our expertise. Since he has been involved in the racing scene for so long, he already had a great community around him. It was our job to step in to grow these existing connections in ways Conor might not have ever thought to before.

With our background in NASCAR and his insider knowledge of the Indianapolis racing scene, we hit the ground running to come up with creative ideas to leverage his value. We are currently working to find ways to enhance Conor’s relationships and negotiate new opportunities that will increase his brand awareness both on and off the track.

Athelo Group aims to bring partnerships to the table that align well with Conor’s personal brand. For instance, as a patient of Type 1 Diabetes, Conor is a vocal advocate for the diabetes community as well as the youth diabetes community since he has been living with this since his early adolescence. Conor has been working with Afrezza (MannKind) which is an inhalable insulin company that is leading the way globally in some of the most unique diabetes research around. Being at the forefront of something different but something that he is passionate about is a win / win for all parties involved while Conor still strives to lean into this partnership to learn more each and every day. We are also helping him branch out into the Esports community to look for opportunities there. We are excited to see how Conor continues to grow in his craft and honor the name of his family’s past racing tradition.

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