Here's a brand that carried the sport into a new era: Wrangler Jeans. Wrangler and R.J. Reynolds (the Winston and Camel brands) were both located in the Triad - Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem, NC. They were both pioneers in sport marketing. Wrangler followed Camel's footsteps into Supercross and I was fortunate to be part of the action as a contracted PR agent.
Note the rodeo imagery tied to this graphic created for the 1982 series. Wrangler was building a juggernaut effort in special events and had a portfolio that included prorodeo, the Willie Nelson country music tour, Dale Earnhardt and Ricky Rudd in NASCAR, a national country music contest, and Supercross.
Wrangler did some important things during its tenure with Supercross. It brought cross-over marketing, media, retail tie-ins and rider point fund money. In 1983, the company hosted the Wrangler Dash, which paid out $30,000 to the winner. Broc Glover took that cash.
I can remember events where Wrangler rolled semis to the races, then fitted everyone in the Supercross business - riders, team mechanics, etc. - with jeans, jackets, and caps. It was the era of the thin fabric, tight Jordache jeans, with the embroidered rear pockets. Shifting the MX scene to the Wrangler comfort fit was sometimes a challenge.
I'd be remiss if I didn't state there were some frictions within the sport, mostly between the AMA and event promoters. Wrangler got caught up in that conflict, as it held its affiliation with the sanctioning body. I regret it happened; Wrangler could have been even a bigger player in the sport. But sponsors come and go...Wrangler was one of the best there was.
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