Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series team Rick Ware Racing is ending its association with East Carolina Univ. because the "sponsorships it expected" the purple and gold No. 51 Chevy to generate "did not materialize," according to Jordan Anders of the Greenville DAILY REFLECTOR. Sunday's Brickyard 400 was "slated to be the second of a three-race deal" in which the car would have "featured ECU’s colors and logos." The original deal was announced May 28 and included a decal on the No. 51 car "at no cost to ECU as part of an initiative to introduce colleges and universities from across the country to the world of NASCAR marketing." However, that plan was "contingent on the racing team securing paid sponsorships" from ECU supporters to "offset the cost." RWR Dir of Marketing Bryan Clodfelter said, "With the product we’ve put out and priced, I would’ve thought it would have easily sold, but it just didn’t." He added that the team would have "needed to secure at least $10,000 to put ECU decals on the car this weekend but hasn’t ruled out a future race." Meanwhile, ECU Assistant AD/Marketing & Sales Greg Herring said that RWR has "informed ECU that the Pirates’ paint scheme and logos will be on the No. 51 car in NASCAR Heat 2, the officially licensed NASCAR video game produced by 704Games" that will be released Sept. 2 (Greenville DAILY REFLECTOR, 7/20). The No. 51 car sported a Clemson paint scheme for last month's Cup race in Pocono and is scheduled to bring that back for the Southern 500 at Darlington on Labor Day weekend (THE DAILY).
