UPS extends NASCAR sponsorship
UPS today announced it had signed a new five-year agreement with NASCAR to continue as the official express delivery company of the sport through the 2011 racing season.
The exclusive “Official Delivery Company” partnership extends a highly successful union dating back to UPS’s initial entry into the sport in 2000. As part of the deal, UPS will continue providing its popular Trackside Services to the industry at all NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races as well as logistics, freight and supply chain services.
Today, UPS serves as the delivery company to approximately 99 percent of the more than 1,000 NASCAR family businesses, race teams, race tracks, NASCAR business units, other NASCAR sponsors and suppliers. That represents a 55% increase in racing customers since UPS entered the sport.
UPS’s decision to extend its relationship with NASCAR follows the company’s decision in 2006 to move its team sponsorship with Dale Jarrett to the new #44 Toyota Camry, which debuts at the Daytona 500 on Feb. 18.
“Over the past seven years, our relationship with NASCAR has made UPS synonymous with America’s fastest growing sport,” said Patrick Guilbert, UPS vice president of sponsorships. “UPS is celebrating its 100th birthday in 2007 and as we look to the future, we know this NASCAR partnership is contributing to the long-term growth of our company.”
UPS maintains six individual track sponsorships, including Bristol Motor Speedway, California Speedway, Daytona International Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Richmond International Raceway and Texas Motor Speedway.
The most visible part of UPS’s role in NASCAR has been its popular “Race the Truck” advertising series, which returns once again in 2007. This year’s ads will focus on Dale Jarrett trying to assemble the perfect pit crew. Jarrett will have several celebrity friends assist him with the search, but one can imagine it will take a unique group of people to handle such a unique race truck. The new series of ads will debut during the Daytona 500.
UPS also has been an active supporter of NASCAR’s diversity efforts to embrace the expanding demographics of its fan base. In November, the company contributed USD100,000 to five minority students at the NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville, N.C. The scholarships cover all school expenses except room and board for qualified minority students attending the institute. To date, UPS has provided USD600,000 in scholarships to the program.
