NASCAR driver Danica Patrick's "tenuous sponsorship situation became more secure" yesterday, as associate sponsor Aspen Dental will "fill some of the void left by former primary benefactor Nature’s Bakery," according to Brant James of USA TODAY. Stewart-Haas Racing said Aspen Dental will serve as the primary sponsor on the No. 10 Ford for "a double-digit slate of races" in the '17 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Season. Aspen entered the season "committed to four races" as the primary sponsor. It will "begin its tenure as Patrick’s main backer" at the Daytona 500 on Feb. 26. TaxAct and Code 3 Associates also are "slated to sponsor Patrick for three races each" (USATODAY.com, 2/14). ESPN.com's Bob Pockrass noted Nature's Bakery was "contracted for 25 races" in '17 but informed the team in January it was "terminating the deal." SHR is "suing the fig bar company" for $31M. SHR officials have said that they "plan to run Patrick the full season, regardless of sponsorship." Aspen Dental, which "signed a multiyear deal" in '15 to sponsor Patrick for four races per season, was "among a group of sponsors that included TaxAct, Code 3 Associates and Mobil 1 that were expected to fill in the 13 events that Nature's Bakery wasn't scheduled to do" in '17 (ESPN.com, 2/14).
SPONSOR LOYALTY: Motorsports writer Jeff Gluck wrote the Aspen Dental deal shows that at least one of Patrick’s remaining sponsors "wanted to double down on supporting her, which could help SHR in selling the other races." In addition, it might "ease the minds of some who worried" whether SHR co-Owner Gene Haas would have to "pay for Patrick’s races out of his own pocket." Though Aspen is only "basically adding six races," it is still "important that one of Patrick’s backers increased its commitment and began to fill the giant void left by Nature’s Bakery" (JEFFGLUCK.com, 2/14). FOXSPORTS.com's Tom Jensen wrote the "secret to a team’s success is how it represents its sponsors." Conventional wisdom for years was that if teams "went out and won a bunch of races, sponsors would flock to you." But it is "not enough anymore to perform on track." In 154 Cup Series starts, Patrick has no wins, no top fives and "never once finished higher than 24th in points." However, an argument could be made with "some conviction that no one works harder to represent his or her sponsor than Patrick does." She has done a "good job for small sponsors ... which is why Aspen Dental is stepping up its commitment" (FOXSPORTS.com, 2/14).
