Banked Turn: BofA Expands Motorsports Tie With NASCAR Deal

Bank Of America Inks Five-Year Deal To Become Official Bank Of NASCAR

Bank of America has agreed to a five-year deal, effective in ’07, to become the official bank, mortgage company and auto financing company of NASCAR, according to Michael Smith of the SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. BofA replaces SunTrust Bank, Home123 and Centrix Financial, respectively, in those categories. The deal will not affect NASCAR’s other financial partners Visa, Allstate and Jackson Hewitt. Steve Phelps “made category consolidation a priority” when he became CMO of NASCAR in ‘05. Phelps: “We had roughly 50 partners and we’re trying to get closer to 30. We think that’s a very smart strategy to allow partners to have as much success as possible in a less cluttered environment.” Smith notes BofA also “owns official status at 10 racetracks,” as well as title sponsorship of the fall Nextel Cup race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway near its hometown of Charlotte. BofA VP/Sports Sponsorship Ray Bednar said the NASCAR deal “is not about, ‘Hey let’s get our name out there.’ It’s about creating an integrated relationship with the industry” (SBJ, 11/27 issue). The AP’s Ieva Augstums cites a source who “put the overall value” of BofA’s five-year NASCAR deal at $15-20M (AP, 11/27).