The River Plate-Juncos Racing partnership will be visible on Kyle Kaiser's No. 32 entry at the Indy 500JUNCOS RACING
Argentinian sports club Club Atletico River Plate -- best known for its Superliga soccer team -- is set to "sponsor Juncos Racing in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500," according to David Malsher of MOTORSPORT.com. Juncos Racing Owner Ricardo Junxos said he is a "life long fan of River Plate," which is the reigning champion of the Copa Libertadores, and has won 36 Argentine Primera División titles. The River Plate-Juncos Racing partnership "will not only be visible" on Kyle Kaiser's No. 32 entry at the Indy 500, as it will extend off track as Juncos has "expanded his involvement to open River Plate Indiana" (MOTORSPORT.com, 5/23). This is the "first time a soccer team is sponsoring a car in the Indy 500" (NBCSPORTS.com, 5/24). Juncos Racing also announced that classic car insurer Hagerty, insurance company NFP and emergency air medical provider Global Medical Response have all "agreed to join the team" for the No. 32 car. NFP "first partnered with Juncos Racing" last year on Kaiser’s car when he raced as a rookie (RACER.com, 5/23).
BIGGER THAN RACING: In Indiana, Nicole Krasean noted for driver Pippa Mann's sponsor Indiana Donor Network, the "cause behind the sponsorship is far more important than what place the driver finishes in." Organ donation is the "center of the Indiana Donor Network's Driven 2 Save Lives campaign" at the Indy 500. The focus of the campaign is Bryan Clauson, the driver who "lost his life in a racing accident" in '16. Mann, Clauson's former teammate, said that she "wasn't always aware of this large need for organ donation" (MYWABASHVALLEY.com, 5/23).
