UPS plans to cut back dramatically on its support of Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 6 car driven by David Ragan in '12. Sources familiar with the company’s plan said it will drop its full-season primary sponsorship of the No. 6 car and sponsor four to eight races at RFR in '12. The company is in talks to shift its sponsorship to Carl Edwards, who drives the team’s No. 99 car. RFR President Steve Newmark declined to comment and said the team is still in discussions with UPS. The company did not return a call seeking comment. The move will further reduce the number of sponsors paying for their logo to appear in all 36 NASCAR races. UPS was one of seven sponsors slated to be on the same NASCAR hood for all 36 Sprint Cup races. The other full-season primary sponsors are FedEx, The Home Depot, Lowe’s, Menard’s, Miller Lite and NAPA Auto Parts. (Red Bull and Furniture Row own the teams that feature their logos.) The move comes on the heels of UPS’ four-year, $100M deal with 68 colleges. The company had a long history in NASCAR and was one of the first in the sport to effectively make a driver the public face of its brand by featuring Dale Jarrett in a multiyear campaign. Known as “Race the Truck,” the humorous campaign showed the company trying to convince the driver to race its “Big Brown” truck in a race. Though UPS won’t renew its full-season primary sponsorship at RFR, sources said the company is expected to renew its official partnership with NASCAR. It has been the sport’s official delivery company since '00 (Tripp Mickle, SportsBusiness Journal).
IN IT FOR THE LONG HAUL: Fastenal Thursday announced that it has signed a multiyear deal with RFR to sponsor Edwards' No. 99 ride. Fastenal will be the primary sponsor of the car for 17 Sprint Cup races in '12, starting with the Daytona 500. The company also will sponsor two more RFR entries in a yet-to-be-determined '12 Sprint Cup race, putting three Fastenal-branded cars on the track in a single event (Fastenal).
