Dr Pepper Snapple Group and Andretti Autosport yesterday announced RC Cola has signed a multiyear deal to sponsor the No. 26 Izod IndyCar entry driven by Marco Andretti beginning in '12. The car's paint scheme and other details of the deal will be announced later. Next year will mark the sixth year Andretti Autosport and Dr Pepper Snapple Group have worked to field an entry in the IndyCar field (Andretti Autosport). In Indianapolis, Curt Cavin reported there had been "speculation that Marco will drive the GoDaddy car next season” after the online registry re-upped with the race team Friday. However, the company "could go with" either Mike Conway or Ryan Hunter-Reay. Go Daddy has been the primary sponsor of Danica Patrick's No. 7 Andretti Autosport car (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 8/27).
HOME TURF ADVANTAGE: In Baltimore, Alexander Jackson reports Under Armour “has inked a deal to sponsor” the Izod IndyCar Baltimore Grand Prix on Sunday, “securing branding on the 2.1-mile race track’s hairpin turn near the Maryland Science Center and elsewhere.” Financial details were not released, but the company has “locked up hospitality at the Grand Prix’ VIP balcony, where it will entertain employees and clients.” Race execs, staffers and volunteers “will wear shirts bearing Under Armour’s name during the weekend.” The company will also “back events during military appreciation day Sept 2.” Under Armour joins a “list of some 30 sponsors including ... M&T Bank and Budweiser” (BALTIMORE BUSINESS JOURNAL 8/26 issue).
GREEN IS GONE: The INDIANAPOLIS STAR's Cavin reports KV Racing Technology has re-signed driver Tony Kanaan "to a multiyear contract and is close to bringing back" drivers Takuma Sato and E.J. Viso. The IndyCar team next year will have “a different engine partner, and that means a literal color change.” KV will "work with Chevrolet, which means it won’t be with Lotus, the company that has covered the team in British racing green." Signing a deal with Chevrolet also means KV "won’t be with Honda, which has backed Sato throughout his career.” Chevrolet has signed at least “three top teams” including Team Penske, KV and Andretti Autosport. Panther Racing is also “expected to be announced as a Chevrolet team” (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 8/29).
EXPANDING THE BRAND: In Baltimore, Jay Hancock noted that since IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard took the job in March '10, he has been "selling the sport to new audiences and making it a part of the 2010s instead of the 1970s." Bernard “opened a Hollywood office to get movie people interested" in the series. He has also been “talking to companies such as Raytheon and Electronic Arts about better technology not only for cars but for video games and other media.” Bernard has been “in touch with Verizon about making drivers’ rear-view mirrors digital and broadcasting the image live to your smartphone.” Hancock: “For next year, he is dumping IndyCar’s cookie-cutter specs, making room for engines from Lotus and Chevy in addition to incumbent Honda.” Bernard said that “independent promotion by IndyCar sponsors rose from $34 million in 2009 to $175 million this year.” He added that he is “working on more direct sponsorships" (Baltimore SUN, 8/27).
