Johnson said Ally is ready to get to work and promote NASCAR to a level that hasn't been seenGETTY IMAGES
Ally Financial has signed a full-season deal with Hendrick Motorsports to replace Lowe’s as the sole sponsor of Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 Chevy in ’19-20. Financial terms of the two-year deal are unknown, but Lowe’s spent around $25M annually. Ally’s deal is certain to still be at least somewhere in the low eight figures annually. HMS announced the deal on NBCSN prior to the start of yesterday's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway, where Ally CEO Jeffrey Brown and Chief Marketing & PR Officer Andrea Brimmer were on hand to help reveal the news. The company also bought an ad buy with NBCSN to start activating its new presence in the sport. The news is a significantly positive development for HMS, which not only replaced 18-year sponsor Lowe’s before the season ended but also did so with one company. Full-season deals in NASCAR used to be routine but have become increasingly tough to land. Ally works with Bartle Bogle Hegarty on its sports marketing (Adam Stern, THE DAILY). Brown would not comment on the financials of the deal, but team Owner Rick Hendrick said that it was "similar financially to the current one he had for Johnson" (ESPN.com, 10/28). Hendrick said, "It's so important to have a sponsor that's going to be on all the cars, every race for two years. Jimmie deserves that." Johnson added, "I'm not done yet. Hendrick isn't done. Ally's ready to get in there and get to work and promote our sport to a level that hasn't been seen" ("NASCAR America," NBCSN, 10/28).
DRAFTING PARTNER: The AP's Jenna Fryer wrote following the loss of Lowe's, selling Johnson off in "pieces would have cheapened the brand" of the No. 48. There has been "concern that Johnson would be parceled off to the highest bidders" as months dragged on without Hendrick announcing a new deal. However, Ally's presence ensures that Johnson will have "just one look in what is probably his final two years chasing sole ownership of the championship record." Ally is the 17th "new partner or renewal this season for Hendrick" (AP, 10/28).
