SPARTA, KY - JULY 14: The lights on the Toyota Camry pace car go out one lap before the start of the ... [+]
When it comes to measuring the health of the sport of NASCAR in recent years much of the attention is focused on the top-tier Cup Series. It’s there that full-season primary sponsorships, once a rarity in the post-recession era after 2008, have started to make a comeback. And with the anticipation building for the Cup series Next Gen car, as well as the sports efforts with diversity and inclusion, new sponsors have emerged along with big names from outside the sport. All are indicators that perhaps the sport is as healthy as it’s been in quite some time.
While much of the sponsorship attention is focused on the top-tier Cup Series, the lower series are showing signs that they are healthy as well.
Recently, Richard Childress Racing made a sponsorship announcement for driver Sheldon Creed, who will drive for the team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series full time in 2022. The sponsor is one that should be very familiar to fans, one that has been in the sport for many years. Yet the branding for this longtime sponsor isn’t something that gets all the attention; instead, it’s a rare case where that sponsor’s actual product is seen just about everywhere at a NASCAR track.
Whelen Engineering specializes in lighting. Not just any lighting but warning lights, sirens, and scene illumination for first responders. As the “official lighting of NASCAR’ whenever the field goes green for a race, or there’s a caution, most of the green and yellow lights seen around the track and flashing atop the vehicles in the infield were made by Whelen Engineering.
Whelen is also the entitlement sponsor for NASCAR’s modified, All-American and Euro grass roots series. Now they will return for a full Xfinity season sponsorship. The company has inked full Xfinity season sponsorships in the past with drivers such as Steve Park, Dave Blaney, and Kenny Wallace in the 1980s and 90s.
The company has also served as an associate sponsor for several teams through the years. In 2022, however, they will return as the full season sponsor for Creed at RCR.
“The opportunity was there,” said Peter Tiezzi, III, general manager of motorsports and project manager for Whelen. “It was a good time to come back to RCR. They approached us, and we couldn't pass it up. He's a great driver and where he's going to go next season. It's just made sense to us.”
Unlike the Cup series, the Xfinity series won’t be debuting a Next Gen car in 2022 so that didn’t play into Whelen’s decision. Instead, the announcement of the RCR sponsorship for next season could be an indication that like the Cup series, the Xfinity series is doing just fine.
It also demonstrates that the overall motorsports sponsorship landscape is improving.
Whelen has been involved in other forms of motorsports, notably the IMSA series where it’s been a primary sponsor for Action Express Racing which fields Cadillacs since 2015. They recently extended that partnership and Action Express firmed up their driver lineup for 2022.
“I think it looks really well,” Tiezzi said of the sponsorship landscape. “I mean, we’ve sponsored different series outside of NASCAR as well, and use it as an opportunity to bring our customers to races and make them aware of racing.”
Sheldon Creed will move to NASCAR's Xfinity series fulltime in 2022 with Richard Childress Racing.
For driver Sheldon Creed, who made his way into NASCAR in years after the post-recession era, full season sponsorships are something new to him.
“It’s the first time in my career we’ve had something like this,” Creed said. “Obviously I’ve had sponsors all the way up, but to have something signed this early and to have a sponsor is really great not just myself, but for my whole team.”
Fans will see the red and white Chevy emblazoned with Whelen all of next season in the Xfinity series racing on track. It will be the most visible part of a sponsorship that has been somewhat in the background for many years in NASCAR.
“I tell people,” Tiezzi said with a smile. “If you shut all lights off for the weekend at a racetrack, you will have no control over what's going on.”
Come next season those lights will be shining brightly on a new sponsorship in a sign that the sport of NASCAR is well beyond its post-recession era and sponsors are eager to jump back on board.
“We’ve been around motorsports for three decades,” Tiezzi said. “We just want to be more visible than we ever have.”
