NASCAR has retained Atlanta-based Primedia, Inc. to
develop an integrated marketing and communications strategy
for their 50th Anniversary Celebration in '98. Primedia
will also be responsible for supervising all of the media
programming and public relations initiatives for the 50th
Anniversary and NASCAR's promotional access to six licensed
TV shows and three licensed radio programs broadcast to 600
affiliates worldwide (NASCAR).
COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS 'TIL INDY: Klipsch Lanham
Investments, an Indianapolis-based investment management
company, has signed a deal to become the primary sponsor of
IRL driver John Paul, Jr. and PDM Racing, Inc. for the
Indianapolis 500 and the '97-98 IRL season (KLI).
...Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the 500 Festival will
host a community day on the Speedway grounds May 21. With
the purchase of a $5 ticket, visitors will be entitled to
lap around the 2 1/2 mile oval in their own car, in addition
to attending an Indy FanFest racing-theme park with live
entertainment and Hall of Fame Museum tours (IMS).
AROUND THE TRACK: True Value has become title sponsor
of the Inaugural True Value 500 IRL night event at the Texas
Motor Speedway on June 7 (TMS)....Pennzoil will sponsor the
Pennzoil 200, the IRL event to be held at the New Hampshire
Int'l Speedway, in Loudon, NH, on August 17 (Pennzoil).
...IMG Motorsports announced twelve new sponsors
participating in this year's Medic Drug Grand Prix of
Cleveland. Among those are Crooked River Brewing Company,
official beer; Shell Oil Products, official gas/oil; LCI
Int'l, official long-distance telecom; Northern Ohio Toyota
Dealers, official truck; WKNR-AM, official AM Radio;
Preformed Line Products, title sponsor of Cleveland's SCCA
Trans-Am Championship; Dodge, title sponsor of the Super
Touring Championship; Duplicolor, official sponsor. Also,
Medic Drug extended its title sponsorship of the Medic Drug
Grand Prix of Cleveland through '99 (Medic Drug Grand Prix).
