SB NATION’s Jeff Gluck reported HBO's “Eastbound and Down" will sponsor the MAKE Motorsports No. 50 NASCAR Nationwide Series car driven by T.J. Bell in Saturday's DRIVE4COPD 300. The car features some “recognizable images from the popular comedy series," including main character Kenny Powers' "prized jet ski, and has a purple and leopard-print design.” It also features “Powers' face -- and epic mullet -- right on the hood.” Gluck noted one reason MAKE Motorsports may be signed the deal is because the team's owners are natives of Shelby, N.C., which is Powers' hometown in the show (SBNATION.com, 2/21). AWFUL ANNOUNCING’s Joe Lucia wrote, "Say what you want to say about NASCAR, but a cult favorite show among sports fans sponsoring a car can only bring new eyeballs to the sport” (AWFULANNOUNCING.com, 2/22).
COOKIE MONSTER: ADWEEK.com’s Gabriel Beltrone reported as part of the Oreo brand's 100 anniversary this year, driver Tony Stewart “will trade in his regular Office Depot-sponsored Chevy Impala to drive a special-edition version of the same model painted in homage to Oreo's 100th at the Nationwide Drive4COPD 300.” Limited edition Birthday Oreos “have already started to hit shelves,” but the “majority of the new advertising campaign around the anniversary won't launch until the sandwich cookie's official centennial on March 6.” Stewart signed a deal with Kraft in ’10 (ADWEEK.com, 2/22).
TWEETING MACHINE: ESPN.com’s Maria Burns Ortiz reported NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski's No. 19 ride during Friday's Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250 "will feature the Twitter handles of more than 2,600 fans selected through a contest run on the microblogging site.” Keselowski's truck marks “the first time that thousands of social media handles have been displayed on a NASCAR vehicle.” The handles will be displayed “on the bed of the truck with 10 winners having their Twitter names displayed prominently on the truck's doors” (ESPN.com, 2/22).
MAKING THEIR DEBUT: The National Watermelon Association announced it will celebrate its 99th year of service by placing its logo on the hood of the SS Green Light Racing No. 08 Toyota driven Ross Chastain, who will make his first start in the Camping World Truck Series this weekend (National Watermelon Association).
