FastBass trying to reel in NASCAR fans

Ralph D. Russo

Wednesday, April 12, 2000 | 6:42 a.m.

JACKSON, Miss. - Step right up and get your Dale Earnhardt fish!

Derek Wright hopes those who love fast cars and big bass will do just that. So, this former car salesman has combined them into a new business, FastBass.

No, it's not an 8-cylinder largemouth. It's a series of die-cast collectible, 5-pound trophy bass decked out in the paint schemes of NASCAR race cars.

If enough fans are willing to part with $49.95, Wright and partner Tony Taylor might reel in some big bucks.

"It is a pool hall or novelty item," Wright said of his shiny, colorful brainchild.

He says the first editions of his painted fish will soon be sold on the Web, and should hit sporting goods stores by the summer.

The idea came to Wright after a day at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama, where he watched Terry Labonte win a Winston Cup race. He woke up at 3 a.m. the following day with two images in his head - a race car and a trophy bass.

Taylor, a co-worker at an auto dealership, made a mold that became Earnhardt's car.

"It looked good, and I liked the idea, but I didn't know what we were going to do with it," Taylor said.

At first they had modest goals for Victory Lane Productions.

Then they went fishing for capital, and say they raised $500,000.

That doesn't surprise Tom Cotter, chairman of Cotter Group, a sports marketing company in Charlotte, N.C.

"It's a brilliant idea," said Cotter, whose company works with many racing sponsors and some drivers. "I think what it will be is a NASCAR fan's version of a Pink Flamingo."

As the sport's popularity increases, fans seek new souvenirs and collectibles with a NASCAR theme.

"It started off with mundane T-shirts, then collector cards and die-cast toys," Cotter said. "It's just gone further and further to the edge, and we're at the new edge now."

Soon after forming their company, Wright and Taylor began signing Winston Cup drivers. It didn't take much of a sales pitch.

When Wright gave Bobby Labonte a fish replica of his car, Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Tony Stewart wanted one of his own.

Wright and Taylor ended up making a fish for Gibbs and the crew chiefs for both drivers. That's when Wright realized they might be on to something big.

"If they are getting a kick out of it and it is cool enough for these people, it ought to be pretty slick," he said.

Victory Lane also has licensing agreements with Earnhardt, Jeremy Mayfield, Ricky Rudd, Dale Jarrett and Terry Labonte.

Busch Series driver Hank Parker Jr. is on board as well. Hank Sr., a champion bass fishermen, is the spokesman for FastBass in the company's magazine ads.

"I guess we all kind of laughed about it too until we saw one and how these guys had the thing marketed," Mayfield said.

Wright and Taylor are so confident of success they quit their full-time jobs.

"At first, the fish was getting in the way of our work at the car dealership," Wright said. "Then I realized that work was getting in the way of the fish."