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CHARLOTTE, NC (AP) – Rick Hendrick gave Kyle Larson a second shot at NASCAR because Hendrick Motorsports had wanted him in his roster for years. Now that Hendrick has his man, he’s locked Larson for two more seasons with full sponsorship.
Hendrick told his 93 dealers on Wednesday that the most prominent driver in motorsport has signed a contract extension until 2023 and that Larson will be fully sponsored by HendrickCars.com.
It might seem like the sponsorship is Rick Hendrick’s money anyway, but the sponsorship of 35 races over the next two years is funded by Hendrick Automotive’s marketing budget. The deal is somewhat unprecedented as the website will also sponsor Larson in all of its non-NASCAR events with a nose branding on its all-terrain cars, helmets, gloves and fire suits.
“My dealers, general managers and employees, they didn’t want anyone else on the car,” Hendrick told The Associated Press.
Larson joined HMS this season on the cheap after being suspended from NASCAR for nearly a year for using a racial slur. Sponsors were initially fearful, so the Hendrick website for new and used cars bought some of the advertising space on the No.5 Chevrolet.
The site has been on Larson’s car in 14 races so far this season, but only three of his five NASCAR victories. A different sponsor was on the car when Larson won at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May to make Hendrick the most successful team in NASCAR history and the car group were not happy.
Hendrick told AP his marketing team at Hendrick Motorsports was actively selling Larson’s sponsorship and had offers, but the team owner cut off all conversations when his automotive group said he wanted the ad space.
“I increased it by about 20% once the automobile was engaged,” said Hendrick. “We had one deal for the whole thing, so I had them step up and at least match the offer. And they did, they want whatever they can get.
NASCAR’s top stars for years were identified by their sponsors, but the brand faded into an unsustainable business model and teams were forced to sell ad space on their cars in pieces to multiple companies.
Ally, sponsor of Hendrick Alex Bowman driver, is the only current Cup Series company with a full sponsorship season and HendrickCars.com would have matched that commitment had Valvoline not already purchased three races for next year on the Larson’s car; this agreement is expected to continue in 2023.
“When we run on Sunday, our employees are excited when they get to work on Monday,” Darryl Jackson, vice president of financial services for Hendrick Automotive Group, told AP. “Near the water cooler, on the floor of the showroom, in the service center, they talk about their car. It’s “My driver”. My crew.’
“When you associate that with the business, it makes sense. More prospects sell more cars, don’t they? We have to advertise somewhere, so why not advertise one of our assets? ”
Larson has won a four-point race, a Cup Series high, this season, as well as the million dollar All-Star race. He is second in the championship standings and has won 10 times so far this year in non-NASCAR events.
He races dirt tracks across the country and has 56 wins since the start of 2020 – most of those that came out of NASCAR when he was suspended from 32 races for using insult while competing in a race in line at the start of the pandemic.
Hendrick hinted at his auto arm keeping the sponsorship after Larson’s win at Nashville last month and said he wouldn’t sell the # 5 car in a “piecemeal deal because I think it’s worth more to me than doing it.”
The data proved Hendrick right.
Jackson said that since the paint scheme was revealed in February, traffic to the HendrickCars.com website has skyrocketed. Five of the six busiest days this year followed races in which Larson struggled with the website as a sponsor.
“He created a total lead generation value of $ 1.8 million and over $ 5 million in television exposure,” Jackson said. “And we haven’t even made it to the (playoffs) yet.”
Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson retired from NASCAR at the end of last season and signed a sponsorship deal with Carvana for his transition from Hendrick Motorsports to IndyCar. Carvana made significant ad buys at NASCAR races, but the Hendrick Group insisted they felt no competitive pressure to increase their presence.
“Look, Kyle’s track performance and what we’ve seen on the business side is what drove us to make this decision,” Brian Johnson, vice president of marketing, Hendrick Automotive Group, told AP. “Kyle has elevated our trading platform so much it makes sense. As the person responsible for our ad spend, and all things remained equal except for the addition of Kyle, I’m not sure how you can correlate what he does for the business.
Exiled from NASCAR around the same time last year, Larson, 28, would not have dreamed of such a happy turning point in his career. He grew up as a fan of Jeff Gordon and to this day binds the Hall of Famer with sponsor Dupont and his rainbow and flame paint schemes.
Larson was heavily supported by Target early in his NASCAR career, but in eight seasons he has never had a single company fully committed to him.
“I want to be with Hendrick for the rest of my career and if I can have that sponsorship I think it’s going a lot for my brand and my fan base,” Larson told AP. “Someday when I’m out of the Cup and just racing off-road cars maybe they can support me there too. … I have the impression that we are only scratching the surface of what is possible.
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