Continuing the longest-running relationship in NASCAR between a track operator and an insurance company, Nationwide on Friday night will announce that it has extended its sponsorship deal with SMI by three years through '17. The company will make the announcement at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, site of this weekend's NASCAR national-series races. Nationwide, which made its entrance into motorsports in '99 when it originally signed with SMI, will remain as the exclusive insurance company at two tracks -- Charlotte Motor Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway -- where it will receive assets including hospitality and digital signage. The Columbus-based company also will receive hospitality at SMI's six other tracks that host NASCAR races. Nationwide Dir of Sports Marketing Jim McCoy said that the insurer pushed for exclusivity at CMS and BMS because it has been No. 1 in market share in North Carolina for the last 25 years, and Bristol "strategically is a great market for us because it's in Tennessee and close to North Carolina and Virginia." Financial terms were not disclosed. Nationwide last year ended its run as title sponsor of NASCAR's secondary series, now called the Xfinity Series. As part of a three-year pact unveiled last year, the company now is the primary sponsor of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy for 21 Sprint Cup races this season.
MOVING PIECES: McCoy said, "With the most recent efforts with Dale, we continue to grow and evolve our relationship with SMI and just feel they're a very important partner to bring to life the sponsorship at the track, both from a hospitality standpoint for our guests that we're trying to entertain and influence behavior and then also the fans." McCoy added that Nationwide chose a three-year deal with SMI because "we want to make sure all of our agreements are in sync. Our official deal with NASCAR is to 2017; our relationship with Hendrick Motorsports is to 2017; so having that alignment gives us flexibility as we make the over-arching decision of, 'Do we stay in NASCAR? Do we up our spend?'" Meanwhile, McCoy said that Nationwide also is "significantly increasing our efforts" with International Speedway Corp. this year from both a hospitality and experiential standpoint, though the two sides work more on a track-by-track basis and do not have a company-wide pact like it does with SMI. McCoy said the insurer has "definitely stepped up our investment" with ISC, including recently unveiling a deal with Richmond Int'l Raceway to sponsor its "Track Takeover" event at the April 25 Sprint Cup Toyota Owners 400.
