Joe Gibbs Racing next week plans to announce that NASCAR driver Matt Kenseth will “take over the No. 20 team driven by Joey Logano with Home Depot as his primary sponsor” beginning with the '13 season, according to sources cited by David Newton of ESPN.com. Kenseth announced in June he was "leaving Roush Fenway Racing after the season." He confirmed then that he “had a deal with another team, but wasn't allowed to name that team.” Meanwhile, Logano is “a candidate for the No. 22 Cup team at Penske Racing.” That ride became available after Penske parted ways with A.J. Allmendinger following his positive drug test. Logano recently said that he was “not [interested] in a part-time Cup ride and full-time Nationwide Series ride that was one of his options at JGR” (ESPN.com, 8/28).
NAPA KNOW-HOW: NAPA on Friday will become the third team sponsor in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in the last year to announce a full-season sponsorship renewal. Sources familiar with the brand's decision said it has agreed to a three-year deal with Michael Waltrip Racing as the primary sponsor for all 36 Sprint Cup races on the No. 56 car. The agreement is valued at approximately $16M a year. MWR is expected to announce the deal and an extension of its contract with driver Martin Truex Jr. during a press conference at Atlanta Motor Speedway. NAPA follows Miller Lite and 3M as the third full-season sponsor to retain all 36 races after its current contract ended, bucking a trend of giving up full-season primary sponsorships that has taken place over the last decade in NASCAR. The number of full-season sponsors dropped from seven to five this year after UPS opted to decrease the number of races it sponsored at RFR from 36 to fewer than 10 races, and The Home Depot sold off 10 of its races to Dollar General on JGR's No. 20 car. Lowe's and Menard's join NAPA, 3M and Miller Lite as the last five full-season primary sponsors in the sport (Tripp Mickle, SportsBusiness Journal).
