Craftsman dropping sponsorship of NASCAR truck series
Craftsman dropping sponsorship of NASCAR truck series
CSD Staff,December 4
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will lose the only sponsor it’s ever known after 2008.
According to a report in the Kansas City Star, Craftsman will drop its sponsorship of the series after 2008. The report comes on the heels of another report, which states that television viewership for the series was stronger than it’s ever been. According to Nielsen Media Research, more total viewers saw the Craftsman Truck Series in 2007 than in any other season since moving to the SPEED network in 2003.
Steve Phelps, marketing director for NASCAR, told the Star that a replacement has not been found to sponsor the series that has been around since 1995. Phelps said however that a search will soon be underway and he doesn’t expect a problem finding a new sponsor for the series.
“We haven’t started a search, per se,” Phelps said. “But what we want to try to do is identify companies that we believe would be a great fit for the series and a great fit for the fan base. So we’ll get out there in 2008, the New Year, and start discussions with new companies. No real timelines on when it’s going to get done. But it will obviously get done.”
Craftsman’s contract with NASCAR ends after the 2008 series.
Scott Howard, manager of marketing partnerships and activation for Sears, said his company had been in discussions with NASCAR about continuing sponsorship of the series for the past several months.
But, he said, “We have come to the decision that we’re going to be giving up our title sponsorship to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series at the end of 2008. We are fully committed to the series until the end of next season.”
Howard said that Craftsman does not plan to withdraw fully from NASCAR. He said his company will continue exploring efforts to maintain a presence in the series.
Phelps stressed that NASCAR is committed to the truck series.
“The series is incredibly important to us,” Phelps said. “It’s one of our three national series. It’s got an incredibly strong fan base, great competition on the track with some real veteran drivers.”
The change means that all three of NASCAR’s top touring series will undergo a name change over the course of the next two years.
Sprint Cup will become the name of the top series beginning in 2008, and Busch series will become the Nationwide series.
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Hopefully they will find somebody who will pay some real money and bring the truck series up to what it really is "the best racing " around.Cause they have really underpaid for a long time.
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Hopefully they will find somebody who will pay some real money and bring the truck series up to what it really is "the best racing " around.Cause they have really underpaid for a long time.
Amen Brother!! The trucks really have been the best racing this season,
and they do deserve to be paid way more than they are!
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Craftsman isn't leaving motorsports, Scott Howard insists, but it will terminate its title sponsorship of the NASCAR truck series at the end of 2008, two years before the end of its current five-year deal. Craftsman is the only title sponsor the series has had since its inception in 1995.
Howard, manager of marketing partnerships for Sears, said Craftsman's departure also will bring an end to its status as the official tool of NASCAR. The current agreement was supposed to run through 2010, but Craftsman exercised a termination clause for the end of next season. Whether the next move involves a track deal, a team sponsorship or some other media play, Howard isn't sure yet, but whatever Craftsman does, he wants it to be "disruptive."
"We want to elevate and change the perception of the brand," he said. "We don't want to just do what everybody else is doing, but we want to make it bigger and better. We're looking for ways to break through, be a little more disruptive. We're going to be playing in positions that you might not expect to see the brand."
Steve Phelps, NASCAR's chief marketing officer, said the search for a new series sponsor began right away last week when news of Craftsman's departure was released. Howard said he advised NASCAR of Craftsman's intent to terminate its contract in July, but both sides agreed to keep it quiet because NASCAR was in the process of selling title sponsorship of its No. 2 series, which went to Nationwide Insurance.
Phelps said it was important to finalize that sale before beginning to sell the truck series.....MORE....(scenedaily.com)
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Craftsman Changes Direction
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