Hendrick Motorsports sponsor Axalta on Tuesday "did something that might be unprecedented in NASCAR history: It broke ground on the 45,000-square-foot Axalta Customer Experience Center" that will be located on HMS' "expansive" campus in Concord, N.C., according to Tom Jensen of FOXSPORTS.com. Clearly, Axalta "is not a sponsor that's going away anytime soon." Still, the thought of a sponsor "spending millions of dollars to build its own state-of-the-art center on a race team's land is a bold move, signifying that the relationship will last well beyond the next couple of years." Axalta Chair & CEO Charlie Shaver: "It will be another step for us. Our relationship takes its next twist and the next step next year as Jeff (Gordon) retires and as Chase (Elliott) comes aboard." HMS Owner Rick Hendrick: "It says a lot about the way they use the sport and the success they've had on and off the track" (FOXSPORTS.com, 9/9). In Charlotte, Katherine Peralta reports the center "will be the training spot for refinish technicians in the mid-Atlantic region, and will house two paint booths, classrooms, interactive displays and a conference center." The facility "also will have the technology to conduct distance learning for customers learning remotely from his or her own plant or body shop" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 9/10). Meanwhile, FOXSPORTS.com's Jensen reported within the next week or so, HMS "will announce multi-year contract extensions for team driver Jimmie Johnson, his crew chief Chad Knaus and sponsor Lowe's" (FOXSPORTS.com, 9/8).
