Kristi Noem's South Dakota workforce campaign is hitting the NASCAR Cup Series circuit

Gov. Kristi Noem’s workforce campaign is hitting the brickyard and crossing the checkered flag.

The second-term Republican governor announced Thursday in Sioux Falls that Live Fast Motorsports is partnering with the “Freedom Works Here” campaign to sponsor a car at two NASCAR races in the next few weeks. The car's paint scheme features both Mount Rushmore and Noem herself.

It’s the latest move in the $5 million nationwide "Freedom Works Here" campaign, which launched in mid-June with the mission to recruit "freedom-loving people" from across the country to move to South Dakota to join the workforce. While South Dakota unemployment is at a record low of 1.9%, there are over 24,000 open jobs across the state, leaving business owners scrambling to find workers.

Portions of the NASCAR “Freedom Works Here” partnership will be funded out of other marketing dollars earmarked by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, Chris Schilken, GOED commissioner, said. The total sponsorship is estimated to cost $130,000.

More: Gov. Kristi Noem dresses as plumber, dentist in South Dakota's new $5M workforce campaign

Since the launch, over 3,500 people have filled out the online form, according to numbers released Tuesday from the Governor's Office. A majority of the applications have come from California, but there have also been applications from Texas, Florida, Minnesota and New York.

At least 675 applicants are in the "final stages of the process of moving to South Dakota," according to the press release.

Noem said part of the reason for partnering with a NASCAR team was to reach a specific demographic of people who tend to be NASCAR fans.

“A lot of that demographic is who we're talking to… looking at who might be interested in moving to South Dakota, we knew it would be effective,” she said.

Noem touted the success of the “Freedom Works Here” campaign, calling it “more successful than anything South Dakota has done before as a state to do marketing,” including her 2020 tourism campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She also shed more light on the process that went into creating the workforce campaign, explaining that her team collected data on the country and found that eight million people were willing to move for a job.

More: NWS issues excessive heat warning for Sioux Falls, parts of southeastern South Dakota

Additional campaign modeling found that three million people were specifically interested in moving to South Dakota.

“While we’re marketing to the entire country, we’re also specifically talking to those individuals that we know we could get a high return rate on,” Noem said.

What can soothe the workforce woes?

It’s difficult for employers to find people to fill jobs even with the low unemployment rate.

Chris Filsinger, the CFO of Hander Plumbing and Heating in Sioux Falls, said Thursday that his company can’t find enough people to fill the open job postings.

“We would hire 10 to 20 plumbers today. You don’t even have to be a licensed plumber as long as you want to be a hard worker and we have a path to get to that point,” he said.

The state has placed an emphasis on apprenticeship training in a number of industries, including the trades and education, and recognizing out-of-state licenses as part of the solution to the workforce shortage.

And it’s not just full-time, year-round jobs that need to be filled. There’s been stress on the seasonal job market and finding more work visas that would allow international workers to fill jobs.

The tourism and agriculture industries in South Dakota are under pressure to find more workers and although those industries have relied on work visas, such as the H-2B visa program, in the past, they’re competing with other businesses across the country because of the federal cap on visas.

“We’ve had to go out and advocate for more H-2A visas for our ag industry, H-2B for our tourism industry,” Noem said. “We’re constantly telling [the feds] what our workforce needs are and how those programs are helpful.”

More: Volatile, costly international visa program strains South Dakota’s tourism industry

Who’s driving the “Freedom Works Here” car and where can I watch?

Live Fast Motorsports will run the “Freedom Works Here” #78 Chevy Camaro at the NASCAR Cup Series races in Richmond, Virginia and Bristol, Tennessee.

BJ McLeod will drive the car at both events. McLeod is currently last in the Cup Series standing and has yet to win a race in his career.

The Cook Out 400 at the Richmond Raceway will be held Sunday and will be broadcast on USA at 2 p.m. CST.

The Bass Pro Shops Night Race at the Bristol Motor Speedway will be held Saturday Sept. 16 and will be broadcast on USA at 6:30 p.m. CST.

Noem told reporters Thursday she was hoping to attend the Bristol race.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Freedom Works Here South Dakota campaign to partner with NASCAR team