Kyle Larson will have a new look to his No. 42 Chevrolet come 2018 with lead sponsor Target leaving Chip Ganassi Racing’s NASCAR program at the end of 2017, according to SportsBusiness Journal’s Adam Stern.
.@Target has informed @CGRTeams that it won't renew its deal with @KyleLarsonRacin’s No. 42 after this season as it is exiting motorsports — pic.twitter.com/7Ue32PWxmd
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) July 28, 2017
Target has been featured on a Chip Ganassi Racing car in the Cup Series since 2002 with Jimmy Spencer.
“It’s something that we worked on together, and it allows Target to continue to market their brand in a big way with Kyle Larson, our team and NASCAR — but allows us a little more flexibility to react to opportunities that were coming the team’s way,” Steve Lauletta, president of CGR, told SBJ. “Everybody should benefit from that.”
The retail giant did not renew its sponsorship with IndyCar Series driver Scott Dixon at the end of last year.
Larson is locked into the playoffs with two wins this year and currently sits second in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings. Target sponsored 33 of 36 races for the No. 42 team last year. This year, though, it began to back off its NASCAR program, with its logos being featured on Larson’s car for 14 of 20 races thus far.
CGR already has a sponsor that is new to the team and NASCAR, according to Stern’s report. Credit One Bank has upped its sponsorship with CGR this year, sponsoring Larson for five races and teammate Jamie McMurray in one.
Team owner Chip Ganassi recently said his driver lineup will remain the same in 2018.