Ingersoll Rand today announced a multiyear sponsorship deal with NASCAR that designates the company as the sanctioning body’s official power tool. As part of the deal, Ingersoll Rand also becomes an official sponsor of the IMSA road racing series as well as a contingency sponsor of the Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR’s other series. Financial terms were not available. To activate the agreement, Ingersoll Rand will be on-site at tracks to provide demonstrations of its power tools plus expertise to both pit crews and fans. The company also will institute a text-to-win contest wherein winners will get rewards ranging from an Ingersoll Rand prize pack to meet-and-greets with pit crews and other racing personalities (Adam Stern, Staff Writer). NBCSPORTS.com’s Tony DiZinno writes Ingersoll Rand’s “mission, among other things over the course of this new five-year partnership, is to further recognize both current and the next generation of crews and also to further work to integrate NASCAR’s fan base with the tools themselves.” Ingersoll Rand President of Power Tools John Evans: “We have a long history in racing, going back to when in 1959 we introduced the thunder gun, which is used by most of the pit crews today.” He added, “There is a desire about high performance cars, whether you’re in the pits or working on an assembly plant, where people want a high performance tool. We have a lot of demographic evidence to support that.” NASCAR Chief Sales Officer Jim O’Connell said that further activation plans -- “including with both of NASCAR’s TV partners” for ’15 in Fox and NBC -- “are still being determined, but expected to progress” (NBCSPORTS.com, 1/22).
