Are you fan enough? Prove it in newly created contest

Are you the biggest NASCAR fan on your block? In your city? In your state? How about in all of North America?

NASCAR Biggest Fan 2008 asks that very question and its $25,000 to the fan who proves it.

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Of course, fans must be in it to win it, so you have to visit the Web site and register (click here). Once registered, fans will be able to post their own video showing why they are the biggest NASCAR fan. Fans will also be able to look at all the others posted on the site to gauge the competition, rate the videos via a star system, vote on them and discuss them with friends.

The site will remain open and able to take submissions until Nov. 7; a week later the online voting will stop. A blue-ribbon panel of judges will winnow down the submissions to the top 25, which will then be the finalists for the grand prize.

Those finalists will go back on the site for another round of voting, lasting from Nov. 15-30. The judges will then determine the winner of the $25,000 top prize, which will be announced the first week of December.

The contest pays out to the top three. The runner-up earns $10,000 and third-place money is $5,000. Fourth place is worth a $1,000 shopping spree at the NASCAR.COM Superstore.

Sounds cool, right? Who couldn't use $25,000 these days? And think of the bragging rights ... the winner will be the "Biggest NASCAR Fan" for a whole year, until the 2009 winner is announced.

Every contestant can enter up to five videos, further increasing the chances of finishing in the top four.

The Official NASCAR Members Club combined with ZigZadZ, a user-generated content company that brings users together with advertisers, bring NASCAR Biggest Fan 2008 to market.

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"I think this offers a real unique opportunity for NASCAR to really engage their fans on a different level," said Todd Pelow of ZigZadZ. "That's what our ZigZadZ program is all about. It's marrying the advertisers and consumers together, building a real bridge where the consumers themselves become the creative department for the advertiser and the distribution network for the advertiser as well. That's a very powerful viral marketing/social network atmosphere."

Pelow said that the program hinges on "atmosphere," and that creating it was the key.

"It [the content] has to be user-generated," he said. "It can't be an advertiser trying to make it look like it's user-generated. Once you have that, you're 50 percent of the way there. The other 50 percent is having that user take the initiative to distribute it themselves. That's where the magic really happens.

"We have the ability to create that atmosphere for NASCAR."

ONMC vice president Larry Griffiths said that to him, it was about passion for the sport.

"NASCAR fans are obviously very passionate, and they love showing off their passion," he said. "We're really happy that we're going to be able to allow them the opportunity to have that platform and use their creativity. If you've ever been in the infield or the campgrounds, you've seen how creative they are."

Each of the videos posted features a 15-second rolling commercial, and that's key to the distribution efforts among NASCAR fans.

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"It's ground-breaking, because we're taking a new media, a very exciting media in the Internet and video and we're creating a new platform for NASCAR fans to really express themselves in a way that has never been done before," Griffiths said.

Pelow said partnering with the ONMC was one of the keys to the deal for his company, which has spent more than two years analyzing, planning and developing this concept.

"ONMC is really the channel," Pelow said. "They've been the conduit for NASCAR and ZigZadZ to pull this together. The ONMC is extraordinarily powerful because of their relationship with the members themselves. They have more than a million members in their database, and they have real-time relationships built with the membership. That's a powerful tool for us because we can utilize that relationship, engage those members first to begin creating the viral atmosphere.

"We think, together, we can create a brand-new, powerful, fun channel for users to take part in the phenomenon of becoming rich and famous."

The program is set to run through the end of the NASCAR racing season, and the big news will be generated just as the NASCAR season celebrates its champions.