Winning a Sprint Cup race is one of the hardest things to do in all of professional sports – unless of course your name is Jimmie Johnson. The five-time Cup champion has won races at an impressive clip – 54 wins in 337 attempts – a 16% clip. But there is one company that is even more successful than the man who has eviscerated the competition this past half decade: Freightliner Trucks.
It’s a name you might not know immediately but you certainly know their products – namely the giant haulers that bring the cars to the track each and every week. In fact around 75% of teams in the garage including powerhouse teams Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing and Richard Childress Racing use Freightliner haulers and the estimate is that these big rigs will haul 70% of the race winners to and from the tracks – a record that even Double J would envy.
The long standing partnership between NASCAR and Freightliner was recently renewed last August. An official from Freightliner Trucks explained further: “We’ve enjoyed a wonderful partnership with NASCAR over the last five years and look forward to continuing the relationship in the years to come. NASCAR continues to allow us to showcase our trucks and equipment to a nationwide group of loyal NASCAR fans, as well as directly to our customer base who love the sport.”
The relationship has deep roots within the sport and one such example is the Run Smart Hauler Challenge: a timed skills test among hauler drivers (backing up, blind jack knife turns, tight spots and cones) which becomes exponentially more difficult with each round. In 2011 two rounds are in the books – Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Talledega Superspeedway – with three more rounds on the slate: Kentucky Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway and the finale at Kansas Speedway.
“We are very proud to host the Freightliner Run Smart Hauler Challenge each season,” explained Clausen. “This is an event that truly showcases the men and women who put a lot of miles on their Freightliner Trucks moving this sport back and forth across the country. The Run Smart Hauler Challenge gives Freightliner a chance to highlight what safe and effective drivers these men and women really are.”
Another example of the strength is the partnership with the NASCAR foundation at the Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS) announced in March this year. Freightliner will hold a series of special events supporting the foundation including displaying its specially-designed Coronado truck featuring a custom paint job that showcases a candy-colored checkered flag and the silhouettes of children along the side of the cab. The NASCAR Foundation logo and its tagline “Every child deserves a champion,” are emblazoned on top of the hood logo, and a coordinating roof graphic completes the look.
In addition to the customized Coronado, NASCAR Day pins supporting Victory Junction through The Foundation will be available at the Freightliner booth for a $10 donation for the duration of MATS. “We are thrilled to be a part of this event and working with a long time partner of our sport in Freightliner to bring awareness for the impact The NASCAR Foundation has for children across the country,” said Sandy Marshall, executive director of The NASCAR Foundation.
This spirit of giving back is also reflected in Freightliner’s support of the Coca-Cola Recycling Program to which the company donated a new hauler this year complete with NASCAR foundation livery on the front of the cab. The truck has a Portable Processing Center mounted to the back to collecte used beverage containers at more than 11 Sprint Cup tracks this season. This program also gives Freightliner links with the NASCAR Green initiative.
And just last week, the partnership deepened further as Alliance Truck Parts announced a three-year naming rights deal with Michigan International Speedway for the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Alliance Truck Parts are a leading provider of replacement parts for the commercial transportation industry and under the umbrella of the same parent company as Freightliner Trucks namely Daimler Trucks North America.
“There is a great deal of value with sponsoring a Nationwide Series race at MIS, and we’re happy that Alliance Truck Parts has made the choice to do so for our upcoming race on June 18,” MIS President Roger Curtis said. “We appreciate anytime a new company chooses to make MIS a platform for its goals and initiatives. Many MIS guests are in the commercial transportation industry and we look forward to showcasing Alliance Truck Parts to all those guests and all of the great race fans that attend and watch races at MIS.”
About the author
Tony Lumbis has headed the Marketing Department for Frontstretch since 2008. Responsible for managing our advertising portfolio, he deals with our clients directly, closing deals while helping promote the site’s continued growth both inside and outside the racing community through social media and traditional outlets. Tony is based outside Philadelphia.
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