Time Warner Cable is expanding its sponsorship of Hendrick Motorsports, adding primary sponsorship for five races on the No. 88 car with Dale Earnhardt Jr. this season and two races on the No. 5 car with Kasey Kahne. The deal closes out the open inventory on the No. 88 and No. 5 cars this year. With TWC, Earnhardt now has a sponsor for five of the 13 races that were available on the No. 88 at the start of the season. The eight remaining primary sponsorships were taken by the National Guard, bringing its total number of races from 20 to 28, industry sources said. PepsiCo’s Mountain Dew brand sponsors five races on the No. 88. Financial terms of TWC’s deal for the No. 88 were not available but Hendrick was seeking more than $750,000 per race for Earnhardt's car. In addition to adding five races with Earnhardt, TWC expanded its sponsorship of Kahne. The company signed on to be a primary sponsor of Kahne at the start of the season and sponsored him for four races this year. The original four-race deal was valued at $2M a year. Time Warner is adding two races this year, bringing its total to six, and it is sponsoring five events in '14 and '15. Kahne, whose car is now sold out of primary sponsorship through '14, was featured in TWC's “Enjoy Better” national advertising campaign. The company in a statement said that NASCAR has delivered “terrific exposure and return” this year. The deal also is connected with Hendrick Automotive Group, the motorsports team’s sister company. Hendrick Automotive has dealerships in 12 states, and Hendrick Motorsports can help TWC's sales team with introductions to its local dealers. CAA advised TWC on the deal.
