The company had its beginnings in the late 1970’s when former racecar driver, Mark Bush, leased his white Camaro to Hardees for a television ad campaign – a simple business transaction that would open doors and establish key relationships for years to come.

College Years
Not only did Bush love racing cars himself, he was also an avid race fan who spent much of his college years writing about racing and studying its correlation to business marketing. Bush was surprised and disappointed that his University of Georgia advisor refused to allow him to write his master’s thesis on auto racing and publicity, so he left the school and put his ideas into a successful, real-world test market. (Now, years later, schools have caught the vision, and some even offer doctoral programs in sports marketing.)

Expansion
From the Hardees commercials, Mark Bush Associates got involved in a Winston Cup program and handled numerous motor sport displays, including CART and Indy 500 programs. In 1989, Mark expanded the company to include a CITGO account, which now required 6 show cars and opened the door to 1000 annual events.

NASCAR Sponsors
From there, the company acquired the Phillips 66 account and provided show car services during their Winston Cup sponsorship, as well as a mobile marketing program to meet their mass merchandiser needs. As time went by, Mark Bush Associates began developing programs for other NASCAR sponsors such as Heinz, Nestle’s, Fina, Bojangles, Albertson’s, and Discover Card.

The company has always valued long-term relationships with clients, and by and large, companies stay with Mark Bush Associates until they exit the sport.

Innovation
One of the key elements of the company is that it has developed innovations in the field of show car promotions. Mark Bush Associates was one of the first companies to treat shows cars as a full-time business, and it was instrumental in developing simulator cars to be purpose-built vehicles, rather than converted racecars. The company also pioneered the use of rooftop mounted cold air balloons on trailers and helped elevate the standards for show car personnel. Mark Bush was also one of the first companies to strategically locate show car bases throughout the U.S. to minimize travel time.

Future
Mark Bush Associates will continue to serve quality merchandisers by transporting show cars throughout the nation and providing a professional, exciting marketing tool for astute retailers. With ongoing research and innovation, the company will continue to expand its show car operations into every major U.S. city.