NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: Whole New Drive For Gordon
Jeff Gordon’s new deal will help the fight to end hunger...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted October 27, 2010   Charlotte, NC
Jeff Gordon (Right) and team owner Rick Hendrick (Left) join AARP Foundation President Ann Jenkins for Wednesday's announcement that AARP Foundation’s Drive to End Hunger will sponsor Gordon in the Sprint Cup Series. (Courtesy Hendrick Motorsports)
After having Dupont as his primary sponsor since he broke into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 1992, Jeff Gordon's Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet will have a radically different look next season, when for 22 races his primary sponsor will be the AARP Foundation’s Drive to End Hunger.

Following are some of the particulars:

What does the sponsorship entail?
The AARP Foundation Drive to End Hunger deal is for 22 races per season, for each of the next three years. The AARP is paying market value for the sponsorship, which likely puts it into the $12-$15 million range annually.

To that end, AARP believes the investment will return many more dollars than it costs. AARP also can bring in corporate partners to buy some of the races, as long as those corporate partners don’t conflict with existing Hendrick sponsors. At the end of the day, it’s extremely likely that a substantial portion of the bill will actually be paid for by AARP’s corporate partners, and not the AARP Foundation itself.

Expect one of the most sophisticated and complex marketing programs in NASCAR history to be part of this deal: At the www.drivetoendhunger.org website there already is a text-to-donate program set up. The AARP will reach out to NASCAR fans, corporations and charitable organizations across multiple platforms, including presence at tracks.

“Our goal is not only to help the local food banks around the country so they can get food, so they can get food immediately, but for us to try and solve this issue on a broader basis so that folks don’t get in a position where they’re hungry,” said Jo Ann Jenkins, president of the AARP Foundation.

How socially significant is this deal?
It’s safe to say this sponsorship package is groundbreaking. While there have been many charitable endeavors supported by various NASCAR teams, families and foundations — breast cancer, autism and childhood illnesses among them — no non-profit has ever stepped up to this level before.

“I think it’s huge,” Gordon said of the campaign to end hunger. “Because it’s such a real issue, and it’s one that with the proper funding and the proper awareness, we can fight this. We can end this. We have such a giving community already. To have a sponsor like this that’s going to be out there for 22 races and really make a difference in every community we go into, as well as raise awareness on a national and maybe even a global level, I think this is really big.”
Jeff Gordon's winless streak goes back 65 races to his last win at Texas in April 2009. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Will this help NASCAR overall?
Unquestionably, yes. To put it politely, NASCAR has not always been on the cutting edge of caused-based marketing, and battling hunger is a cause everyone can support. This deal could — and should — have positive implications far beyond Hendrick Motorsports.

This might raise NASCAR’s visibility on being socially progressive and it just might give some fans a reason to re-engage in the sport.

“I think it’s going to be very impactful because it’s unique, it’s different,” said Gordon. “And that’s always good for our sport. Right now, seeing where things are at, it needs more things like this to give it that little spike and uniqueness and separate us from other sports. ... That’s how you keep this sport going forward.”

“This is going to take us outside of where we are today at NASCAR,” said team owner Rick Hendrick. “This is going to take us to some companies that really hadn’t looked at it. ... I think it will drive some people to NASCAR, which will help the other teams.”


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