Jeff Gordon on how NASCAR sponsorships changed during his career - NBCSports.com
In a parallel universe ( as explored in this SportsWorld story about Shell’s Team Penske sponsorship ), Jeff Gordon might be sporting a uniform look during his final full-time NASCAR season. Instead the four-time series champion’s No. 24 Chevrolet is emblematic of the trend toward rotating primary sponsorships in Sprint Cup. Through the first 10 races this season, Gordon’s car has featured Axalta, Panasonic, Drive to End Hunger and 3M (which joined the Hendrick Motorsports team this year). Later this season, longtime sponsor Pepsi will be featured. It’s a far cry in many ways from the first 18 seasons of Gordon’s career, which was synonymous with the DuPont Automotive Finishes brand. Gordon said there are advantages to having a single primary sponsor for a full season. “When it comes to brand recognition, the fans want to see the same color paint scheme and sponsor every weekend,” he said. We’re very fortunate to have the multiple partners we have, and it’s fantastic, and we’ve got great partners, and we feel very fortunate that we have them to fill up those races. That was partially a byproduct of the Great Recession, which wiped out many companies’ marketing budgets and put heavy scrutiny on big-ticket expenditures such as a NASCAR sponsorship. Source: nascartalk.nbcsports.com
