Wheels & Deals: Subway Expands Sponsorship Deals With Carl Edwards, RFR

Subway announced that it has extended its deal with Roush Fenway Racing and NASCAR driver Carl Edwards. The QSR will expand its primary sponsorship of the Sprint Cup Series No. 99 Ford from three races in '11 to six races in '12, starting with the March 4 Subway Fresh Fit 500 in Phoenix. The multiyear extension also includes four additional races as an associate sponsor and designation as the official training restaurant of Edwards and RFR. Edwards will continue to be featured in Subway's ad campaigns, with a new ad to debut during the Daytona 500 (Subway).

SAME WHEELS, NEW DEALS: Lucas Oil Products and the NHRA have signed a contract extension through '15. The deal includes title rights of the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minn.; a continued designation as the official oil of NHRA; naming rights at Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Raceway; and sponsorship of the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. Through the end of the new agreement, Lucas Oil will mark 14 years as the sponsor of the Drag Racing Series (NHRA). Financial terms of the agreement "weren't available, but the deal is valued in the mid-seven-figure range annually" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 2/6 issue).

GIRL POWER: SCENE DAILY's Jeff Owens noted NASCAR driver Danica Patrick "knows there are critics who frown on her using her body and looks to attract sponsors and generate media exposure." However, she is "used to it, and it doesn’t bother her at all." Patrick: "I’m a girl, and to say that I can’t use being a girl doesn’t make any sense. In this world, there is so much competition out there and you have to use everything that you have to make sponsors happy, to attract them and to be unique and be different." Patrick has "no qualms about being portrayed as a sex symbol by Go Daddy, other sponsors and even men’s magazines." She is already "near the top in NASCAR souvenir sales, with long lines forming at her merchandise trailer at every track, every week" (SCENEDAILY.com, 2/8).

MARKETING BOOST: SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Tripp Mickle notes 5-hour Energy is projecting it will do $13M "more in business this season by moving from sponsorship of a NASCAR Nationwide Series team to a Sprint Cup team." The company, which late last year "signed a 24-race primary sponsorship deal with Michael Waltrip Racing to sponsor the No. 15 car driven by Clint Bowyer, expects to generate $30 million of sales from its $10 million spend on the car." It would do so through a "multifaceted  marketing strategy that includes TV advertising, retail promotions and hospitality at the track. 5-hour Energy also plans to offer convenience stores like Circle K and national retailers like Family Dollar and Walgreens "space on the back of the No. 15 car in exchange for favorable placement and promotions at retail" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 2/6 issue).