Roush Fenway Racing on Friday announced a multiyear deal with home, lawn and garden pest control product company Ortho to serve as the primary sponsor of the No. 16 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford driven by Greg Biffle. Ortho will debut on the No. 16 car during the Aug. 31 Oral-B 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway and will appear on the car for two more races this season before becoming the car's anchor partner in '15 (RFR). In Charlotte, Jim Utter noted 3M has "been Biffle's primary sponsor but they are leaving Roush to move to Jeff Gordon's No. 24 car at Hendrick Motorsports next season" (CHARLOTTEOBSERVER.com, 8/22). The AP noted Ortho will sponsor Biffle for "roughly half" of his races next season. The new paint scheme "features images of red fire ants and the words 'fire ant killer'" (AP, 8/22).
GOOD NEWS: The CHARLOTTE OBSERVER's Utter noted it "seems like the sponsor news in NASCAR as of late is taking a more positive overall turn." Joe Gibbs Racing's addition of Arris is "one of the largest investments from a new sponsor to the sport in years." Leavine Family Racing over the weekend "debuted the addition of Thrivent Financial, a Fortune 500 company making its first venture NASCAR" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 8/23).
