Aligned NASCAR teams Hendrick Motorsports and JR Motorsports have partnered with licensee Classic Ink to handle their trackside merchandise efforts, a move designed to give the teams greater control of their sales.
The teams will be the licensor to Pennsylvania-based Classic Ink, which has formed E2 Trackside LLC as part of the venture. The entity will control trackside merchandise efforts for all drivers at HMS and JRM, plus those for JRM co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s outside businesses including Whisky River restaurants and the Dirty Mo Media digital network. HMS owner Rick Hendrick is a co-owner of JRM.
HMS and JRM examined several trackside options after Fanatics terminated its industrywide trackside deal (though Fanatics kept its NASCAR.com relationship). Joe Mattes, vice president of marketing and licensing for JRM, said the deal with Classic Ink will allow for greater control and flexibility over merchandising operations. The new entity will only handle trackside sales — not e-commerce.
Among the elements in the deal with Classic Ink are the outside businesses of JRM co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. (left) and merchandise for Hendrick driver Chase Elliott.getty images
“We sat and worked patiently on an industry solution and have seen heavy involvement with tracks and NASCAR on it, but we just wanted the opportunity to be able to have the freedom to make decisions unilaterally that are best for our teams, drivers and sponsors,” said Mattes, who is one of the foremost licensing executives in the sport. “Being free and clear of any third-party obligations and having the ability to manage your IP rights as a group and team and not as an industry — there’s a lot more flexibility and freedom.”
That includes vendor and product selection, as well as pricing and inventory. “We don’t have to ask anyone for permission,” Mattes said.
Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed.
E2 Trackside will take three to four haulers to tracks on race weekends to sell merchandise. HMS star driver Chase Elliott will take part in the new venture, although his management team had considered handling his sales on their own. HMS’s other drivers are William Byron, Jimmie Johnson and Alex Bowman. JRM’s drivers include Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier and Michael Annett.
SMI Properties, the merchandising arm of track operator Speedway Motorsports Inc., is expected to land trackside deals with several other NASCAR teams not including HMS and JRM.
