Motorsports marketing company drives into St. Pete, opens space in coworking hub

Hype Motorsports, a motorsports marketing company based out of Clermont, has opened a physical space in St. Pete where it is centrally located for the drivers it represents, and its employees. 

Hype Motorsports is a startup that’s behind the wheel for brands of developing drivers who want to attract sponsors and draw more recognition. The firm does everything from photography to videography and event management. 

Director of Sales and Marketing Allick Jorgensen and Director of Corporate Partnerships Nina Haaskivi became members of the Rising Tide Innovation Center in downtown St. Pete nearly a month ago, where they now have a private office. 

“There’s something vibrant about St. Pete. You can feel the energy as you are walking through the different districts and it’s really easy to get inspired, and we like that because a lot of what we do is very creative-based,” Haaskivi said.

“This is our home turf and now we get to be close to clients and entertain people in our city,” she said, adding how the Firestone Grand Prix race in St. Pete was another draw. 

Hype Motorsports has roughly a dozen freelancers who travel throughout the southeast region to help clients enhance their brand, and attend races. 

The company does not represent anyone local in St. Pete; however, it has several clients in other parts of Florida. 

“Our biggest focus is finding developing drivers and hopefully getting them into NASCAR,” Haaskivi said. “Everyone knows NASCAR or Formula One, but under that, there’s NASCAR Super Truck Series, short-track racing.” 

The company represents clients as young as 16 or 17 years old who may be too young to participate in certain competitions. “When they are ready to make that jump, have that marketing established and know the way they wanted to be branded,” she said. 

She said typically referrals by word of mouth are the biggest way Hype Motorsports secures clients. Haaskivi said the company is widely known for the social content and visuals it creates for drivers. 

Drivers Hype Motorsports represents include Brooke Storer, Jett Noland and Ryan Rackley, among others. 

“There’s not a lot of differentiation if you don’t have a brand. It says this is who I am as a driver, as a person, and if you can’t articulate that you are nowhere. When you look at your favorite athletes, you connect to their story, their journey and some of that has been crafted over time,” she said.