Nationwide has expanded its deal with Hendrick Motorsports to become the primary sponsor of the No. 88 Chevy driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr. for a majority of races in the '15 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The insurance company will increase its primary sponsorship to 21 races, including the Daytona 500, for each of the next three seasons. The revised deal increases the number of primary races by nine in '15 and eight in '16 and '17. Nationwide previewed a new paint scheme at Saturday's Federated Auto Parts 400 in Richmond (Nationwide). SPORTING NEWS' Bob Pockrass noted the No. 88 car's primary sponsorship for '15 breaks down as 21 for Nationwide, five for PepsiCo, one for Kelley Blue Book and 11 unannounced (TWITTER.com, 9/5). In Charlotte, Jim Utter noted the extra races "became available when current sponsor National Guard announced it was discontinuing its motorsports sponsorships in NASCAR and IndyCar next season" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 9/6).
DALE YEAH: In Pittsburgh, Patty Tascarella noted Earnhardt yesterday appeared in an "unscripted documentary-style TV spot" for the Univ. of Pittsburgh Medical Center system. Earnhardt suffered "two crashes during a six-week span in 2012 and came to UPMC for evaluation and management of his concussion." Earnhardt "volunteered to spread the word," as he was "grateful for the care." His 30-second ad kicks off the “Out of Towners” campaign. But the campaign, developed by UPMC and Grey, N.Y., will "spotlight more than a dozen patients who traveled from around the world to Pittsburgh for a wide range of treatments." Earnhardt’s comment about choosing UPMC "serves as the tagline for the campaign." In addition to TV, the mediums "include print, radio and digital, primarily directed to the 10-county western Pennsylvania area, but also Erie and Altoona" (
BIZJOURNALS.com, 9/7).
