While sponsors typically "get months to prepare for a major sporting event," QuikTrip's title-sponsorship deal for the NASCAR Sprint Cup event at Atlanta Motor Speedway was signed in mid-December, and now the race "is just three weeks away," according to Eric Bailey of the TULSA WORLD. QuikTrip announced a partnership with the non-profit Folds of Honor Foundation, which provides education benefits for families of fallen or disabled military personnel, to name the event the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500, and displays for the event "can be found at all QT stores" along with promotional cups. The convenience-store corporation "has embraced the challenge of the race." Tulsa-based QuikTrip "has never been involved in a NASCAR race, so there has been plenty of concentration on logistics." QuikTrip Manager of Public & Governmental Affairs Mike Thornbrugh on Friday said, "It’s like starting something with a blank piece of paper and saying, 'Go.' We are learning as we go and trying to coordinate all the logistics and the message. I don’t want to use the word ‘overwhelming,’ but it has been quite a task.” Bailey noted the sponsors’ goal "is to make this the most patriotic event on the NASCAR circuit." A sponsor suite "will immerse people with the Folds of Honor story and the QuikTrip culture" (TULSA WORLD, 2/7).
