Target for its Chip Ganassi Racing deal "will go from two sponsored IndyCar entries to just one in 2015 as the retailer shifts spending to promoting its drivers," according to Jenna Fryer of the AP. Target in the Verizon IndyCar Series will now solely sponsor Scott Dixon's No. 9 car. It also sponsors Kyle Larson, who "just wrapped up NASCAR's top rookie honors in the Sprint Cup Series." Target VP/Experiential Marketing & Alliances Dan Griffis: "We are just reallocating dollars, there's no difference in anything else. I would put our investment in racing as the only full-time sponsor in both IndyCar and NASCAR, against any other sponsor in the sport." Ganassi and Target this year celebrated their 25th anniversary, but as the retailer "increased spending on the sponsorship of cars, it got away from the popular commercials it produced" in the '90s starring Jimmy Vasser, Alex Zanardi, Juan Pablo Montoya plus an "occasional cameo" by team Owner Chip Ganassi. Target "will now try to recapture some of that buzz in new marketing strategies that will debut next year and feature Dixon and Larson." Griffis said that the two drivers "will not appear together in any broadcast spots, but each ad will have different versions." Ganassi "is in the process of revealing his 2015 driver lineups over the course of this month." Tony Kanaan "is expected to return to the No. 10 car in IndyCar, just with sponsorship other than Target" (AP, 12/9).
