Crown Royal is "ready to sign a deal to become the title sponsor" of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, according to Anthony Schoettle of the INDIANAPOLIS BUSINESS JOURNAL. The Diageo brand and IMS President & CEO Jeff Belskus could "make an announcement" at this year's race on July 31. The deal, rumored to be a multiyear partnership starting in '12, is "bigger than the Allstate title sponsorship deal for the race, which was one of the bigger title deals in NASCAR" before it ended in '09. Sources indicated that the new Crown sponsorship is expected to be worth around $1.5M annually, which would be "financially bigger than any other current NASCAR title sponsorship deal." Schoettle noted Crown's reported title sponsorship of the race comes after the brand appeared to be "preparing to exit NASCAR." Last month, Crown announced that it "would no longer sponsor Matt Kenseth’s car at Roush Fenway Racing after this season" (IBJ.com, 7/12). In Indianapolis, Curt Cavin reports an announcement of the title sponsorship "could come later this week." The official name of the event, "which includes two Grand-Am sports car races and the Nationwide Series race to go with the traditional Sprint Cup race, has not been finalized" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 7/13).
