CUP: Jack Daniel's Leaving Childress After 2009 Season

Sprint Cup

CUP: Jack Daniel’s Leaving Childress After 2009 Season

RCR announced Monday that Brown-Forman will not renew their Jack Daniels sponsorship on the No. 07 RCR Chevy beyond this season...

SPEED Staff | Posted September 21, 2009 Welcome, NC

Brown-Forman and it's Jack Daniels brand has been with Richard Childress Racing since 2005. (Photo: LAT photographic)

Richard Childress Racing announced Monday that Brown-Forman will not renew their Jack Daniels sponsorship on the No. 07 RCR Chevy beyond this season.

In a statement the company said that ‘a change in Brown-Forman’s spending priorities led to the decision to conclude the sponsorship that began in 2005.’

“Jack Daniel’s has enjoyed a good five-year run with Richard Childress Racing (RCR) and NASCAR, and we are pleased with the overall performance of our sponsorship program,” said Tim Rutledge, vice president and brand director for Jack Daniel’s. “We have enjoyed building strong relationships with the people in Richard’s organization and throughout NASCAR. While it is difficult for us to end our formal relationship with RCR, the current economic environment has compelled us to revaluate our spending and we’ve concluded that other areas in the marketing mix require additional investment.”

The No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Racing program began in 2005. Drivers Dave Blaney (2005), Clint Bowyer (2006-08) and Casey Mears (2009) have combined over 171 races for two pole positions, two victories, 16 top-five and 50 top-10 finishes. Bowyer earned spots in the Chase for the Sprint Cup in 2007 and 2008 and finished those seasons in third and fifth place, respectively.

“We understand the shift in their spending priorities during these tough economic times,” said Childress. “The No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Racing program will continue to provide that successful platform for the rest of the 2009 season. We have built many valuable relationships with the loyal Brown-Forman employees and their distributors during our partnership and look forward to maintaining those relationships in the future.”

Casey Mears took over the No. 07 at the start of the season after moving from the Hendrick Motorsports stable. Clint Bowyer in turn was moved to the No. 33 Chevy that picked up sponsorship from General Mills.

“Being flexible with our strategic investments has been a consistent theme for us at Brown-Forman and I support the decision to move from sponsoring NASCAR to investments in other areas.” said Paul Varga, chief executive officer of Brown-Forman. “Richard Childress has been a great partner and this decision simply reflects a change in our investment mix, and not any dissatisfaction with RCR or NASCAR.”