Wheels & Deals: Dollar General Expands Sarah Fisher Sponsorship
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Dollar General Will Be Sponsoring A Car In The
Indy 500 For The First Time This Year |
Dollar General is extending its primary sponsorship of Sarah Fisher Racing's (SFR) No. 67 IndyCar Series entry to four races during the '09 season. The races will include the Indianapolis 500 and events at Kansas Speedway, Kentucky Speedway and Chicagoland Speedway. Dollar General sponsored Fisher for two races last season (Dollar General). USA TODAY's Nate Ryan notes the agreement results in Dollar General sponsoring a car in the Indy 500 for the first time. Fisher is "hoping her business acumen can drum up sponsorship" for the remaining six IndyCar races at oval tracks this season. IRL Commercial Division President Terry Angstadt said that Fisher's deal "stokes optimism that IndyCar might not be as affected by the recession as NASCAR" (USA TODAY, 1/13).
POWER PLAY: Team Penske officials yesterday confirmed that IndyCar driver Will Power will replace Helio Castroneves during the '09 season while Castroneves "remains tied to his tax evasion court case." In Indianapolis, Curt Cavin notes it is "unclear what Roger Penske's team will do with Power if Castroneves, whose federal trial is set to begin March 2, becomes available" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 1/13).
FIT FOR THE KING: In Las Vegas, Jeff Wolf reported a "likeness of Elvis Presley will adorn the hood of a No. 3 Chevrolet" on February 27 as part of the festivities around the March 1 NASCAR Sprint Cup UAW-Dodge 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The car, which will not compete in the race, will be the "third car in the Enduring Legends Series from Motorsports Authentics and Dale Earnhardt Inc." LVMS "will give a commemorative 1/64th scale die-cast replica of the 'Earnhardt and Elvis' car to each of the first 10,000 fans that purchase weekend passes" to the track's Neon Garage, where the car will be located (LVRJ.com, 1/12).
FULL SPEED AHEAD: MEDIAPOST's Karl Greenberg reported Honda is "launching the next iteration of its eight-year-old corporate ad campaign, 'Power of Dreams,'" which is "something of a departure for the company." In the campaign, Honda execs, engineers, racers and other employees and associates "take the spotlight." The campaign, via RPA, California, "launches with three 6-to-8 minute videos," including "Kick Out the Ladder" and "Failure: The Secret to Success." In "Failure," IndyCar driver Danica Patrick is "featured speaking about her worst moment as an IndyCar racer, crashing at a race in Homestead." The videos can be seen at www.Dreams.Honda.com (MEDIAPOST.com, 1/12).
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