Category: NASCAR Cup PR

John Hunter Nemechek and Michael McDowell Give Team Youth and Experience

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (December 12, 2019) – Front Row Motorsports (FRM) will see a familiar face return while a new, young, and winning driver will join the organization in 2020. Michael McDowell will once again pilot the No. 34 Ford Mustang and John Hunter Nemechek will join the impressive 2020 Sunoco Rookie-of-the-Year class in his first full season in the NASCAR Cup Series. Nemechek will race the No. 38 Ford Mustang as FRM returns to a two-car operation.

Nemechek, who finished seventh in the NASCAR XFINITY Series championship in 2019, comes to FRM with an impressive resume that includes six NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series wins and one NASCAR Xfinity Series win. He also has two poles in the Truck Series and one pole in the Xfinity Series. Nemechek made three starts for FRM at the end of the 2019 season and was impressive in his Cup debut at Texas Motor Speedway. He will work with crew chief Seth Barbour.

“I’m thrilled for the opportunity to drive for Bob Jenkins and Front Row Motorsports,” said Nemechek. “Having driven the last three races with this team in 2019, I feel like we already have a foundation to start the 2020 season. I’m looking forward to continuing to build FRM.”

McDowell will return for his third full season with Front Row Motorsports and again team with crew chief Drew Blickensderfer. The 12-year Cup series driver once again helped FRM grow in 2019. McDowell earned several all-time team-best marks last season – including giving FRM its best qualifying position at seven tracks and team-best finish at two. McDowell also gave FRM two Top-Five finishes in 2019, including finishing fifth in the Daytona 500.

“As an organization, we have made a lot of strides with the help of all our partners of our program,” said McDowell. “I’m ready to build on that momentum with Drew and the rest of our team. We’ve always had steady growth and I think we’re going to continue to see that next season.”

Front Row Motorsports has competed full-time in NASCAR’s premier series since 2009. The 2020 season will mark Front Row Motorsports’ eleventh with Ford Performance, the team’s manufacturing partner since expanding to a multi-car organization in 2010.

“We are looking to the future with a young talent like John Hunter Nemechek,” said Owner, Bob Jenkins. “John Hunter impressed us at the end of last season, he comes from a racing family, and he’s a winning driver. We believe that we can grow with him in the years to come.

“Michael is a veteran leader who is determined to win in the Cup Series,” continued Jenkins. “He gives our organization the experience we need to continue to get better. Most importantly, both Michael and John Hunter also fit our team values and are tremendous assets to our partners on-and-off the track.”

FRM will announce team partners at later dates.

About Front Row Motorsports
Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 2004 and is owned by successful entrepreneur, Bob Jenkins. FRM fields two full-time entries – the No. 34 of Michael McDowell and the No. 38 of John Hunter Nemechek – from its Mooresville, N.C., headquarters just outside of Charlotte. Visit teamfrm.com and follow FRM on social media: Twitter at @Team_FRM, Instagram at @team_frm and Facebook at facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Dec. 11, 2019) – DGR-Crosley announced a manufacturer change today as they join forces with the historic Ford Performance family, effective immediately. The David Gilliland led driver development program will field Ford entries across multiple racing series including late models, ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series.

The multi-year manufacturer agreement will help further develop Ford’s pipeline of young talent to support their successful efforts in NASCAR’s top series.

“We’re very excited to have DGR-Crosley come to Ford as part of our long-term efforts to develop drivers for NASCAR,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports. “We have just scratched the surface of what is possible in developing the next generation of Ford drivers with people like Chase Briscoe, and we believe a coordinated effort with a team like DGR-Crosley will help move that process forward successfully. David Gilliland was a trusted and valued Ford driver in NASCAR for many years, and we look forward to renewing that relationship with him in this new effort.”

The partnership will also provide DGR-Crosley and their drivers with assets that will help elevate their program to a championship caliber organization across multiple racing series. While Ford is new to the driver development program that was established in 2017, Gilliland has a long-standing relationship with the manufacturer. The veteran NASCAR Cup Series driver was a part of the Ford family for nearly 10 years in his full-time racing days.

“I’m super excited about the partnership with Ford and how things are lining up for 2020,” said team co-owner Gilliland. “I spent a lot of time racing Fords throughout my career, and it’s really special to now be able to bring them into our race shop. A lot of time and consideration was spent on this decision, and internally we know that this is the move that we needed to make in order to advance our program to the top level. We have a great group of hard-working, talented people at DGR-Crosley, and with Ford coming on board, our future is really bright. We’re excited for all the things ahead.”

A lineup of DGR-Crosley drivers that will join the Ford Performance team in 2020 will be released in the coming days.

About DGR-Crosley: DGR-Crosley is a race team owned by NASCAR veteran David Gilliland and Crosley Brands CEO, Bo LeMastus. The Ford Performance team operates out of three buildings totaling 60,000 square feet in Mooresville, N.C. DGR-Crosley specializes in driver development where drivers are coached and given the tools to prepare for NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, ARCA Menards Series and Late Model competition. In just two years of operation, the newly formed team has achieved success across each series, collecting multiple wins and Championships.

About Ford Performance: Ford’s racing program is part of the Ford Performance organization based in Dearborn, Mich. It is responsible for major racing operations globally, including NASCAR (Cup Series, XFINITY Series, Gander RV & Outdoors NASCAR Truck Series), FIA World Rally Championship, Virgin Australian Supercars Championship, Formula Drift, and NHRA Funny Car and sportsman drag racing. In addition, the organization also oversees the development of Ford’s racing engines, as well as the outreach programs with all Ford Clubs and Ford enthusiasts. For more information regarding Ford racing’s activities, please visit www.fordperformance.com, www.facebook/FordPerformance, Ford Performance on Instagram and @FordPerformance on Twitter.

Ford Performance on Social Media:
Facebook: Facebook.com/FordPerformance
Instagram: @fordperformance
Twitter: @FordPerformance

DGR-Crosley on Social Media:
Facebook: Facebook.com/DGRCrosleyRacing
Instagram: @dgr_crosley
Twitter: @DGR_Crosley

First-Time Winner Honored at NASCAR Industry Awards Reception in Nashville

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Dec. 4, 2019) – Busch Beer, the “Official Beer of NASCAR®,” will be awarded the 2019 Marketing Achievement Award today at the NASCAR Industry Awards Reception during NASCAR Champion’s Week in Nashville.

Since returning as an Official Partner in 2018, the global brand has leveraged its Busch Pole Award platform, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing partnership and track relationships to create distinctive content throughout the season to drive fan and media engagement around the Busch Beer brand.

“We take great pride in creating new and surprising ways to engage NASCAR fans throughout the year, so being honored with this award is a special achievement for our team,” said Nick Kelly, vice president partnerships, beer category and community, Anheuser-Busch. “Our partnership with NASCAR and the industry at-large has allowed us to do what we do best, deliver creative marketing that resonates with fans and drives consumption of crisp, refreshing Busch Beer.”    

To celebrate 40 years of Busch Beer at the DAYTONA 500, Busch Beer developed the #Car2Can promotion for a chance to win one of 40 limited-edition Busch Beer cans created from Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. Fans watching the iconic DAYTONA 500 on FOX were given the chance to “watch and win” via an on-screen social media trivia contest using the #Car2Can promotion hashtags. The social campaign generated more than 44 thousand mentions and 67 million impressions around the DAYTONA 500.

“Busch Beer continues to successfully drive consumer engagement by creatively integrating its assets from across all levels of its NASCAR sponsorship,” said Jill Gregory, executive vice president and chief marketing and content officer, NASCAR. “Hats off to our partners for galvanizing our brand-loyal fans across the season, and cheers to all they have in store for 2020.”

Fortunately for the fans, Kevin Harvick not winning the 2018 Championship meant Busch Beer would design a “millennial-inspired” paint scheme for the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race. Busch Beer crowdsourced millennial phrases on Twitter to create the one-of-kind paint scheme. Fans voted for words playing on millennial culture like “yeet,” “turnt left” and “#squadgoals” to adorn the pink race car. To unveil the car’s design, Busch created digital shorts starring Harvick as he learned the meaning of the phrases featured. The full campaign garnered a total of nearly 100 million digital and social impressions.

At Talladega Superspeedway, the beer company brought back its successful Busch Flannel Ford Mustang, donning the No. 4car with an outdoor-inspired flannel look. Harvick and the No. 4 team embraced the campaign with Harvick’s firesuit, crew members’ shirts, fan display and paint-scheme all adorned in flannel. The Busch Guy, also fashioned in flannel, was present over the course of the weekend and fans were able to shop a wide variety of flannel merchandise.

As the NASCAR Playoffs heated up, Busch Beer created a slapstick campaign around Kyle Busch getting “free” advertising through its Stewart-Haas Racing sponsorship. The company went all-in on Harvick, replacing the brand “Busch” within its traditional logo with “Harvick.” Busch Beer capitalized with a strong social media campaign along with broadcast integration, fan merchandise featuring “Harvick” instead of “Busch” as well as special edition “Harvick” beers cans that were sold in concession stands.

In addition to its sponsored Busch Pole Awards, which saw 14 different pole winners this season, Busch Beer incorporated tune-in messaging throughout all its programs. The beer company also included its “Official Beer of NASCAR” designation on all its national point of sale.

This is the first time Anheuser-Busch has been awarded the NASCAR Marketing Achievement Award. Previous winners include: Comcast; Coca-Cola; Fox Sports and NBC Sports; Mars, Incorporated; Mobil 1; and Toyota.

NASCAR’s Champion’s Week in Nashville will conclude with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series™ Awards Thursday, Dec. 5 at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN. For more information, please visit championsweek.nascar.com.

About NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 16 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR consists of three national series (Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series™), three regional series, one local grassroots series, three international series and the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, Americrown Service and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).

About Anheuser-Busch

Anheuser-Busch and its employees build on a legacy of corporate social responsibility by focusing on three key areas: promoting alcohol responsibility, preserving and protecting the environment and supporting local communities. In the past three decades, Anheuser-Busch and its wholesalers have invested more than $1 billion in preventing drunk driving and underage drinking and promoting responsible retailing and advertising. Anheuser-Busch reduced total water use at its breweries by nearly 50 percent over the last 10 years. To date, Anheuser-Busch and its Foundation have contributed approximately $20 million each year in support of charitable organizations that help in local communities. The company also has provided over 79 million cans of emergency drinking water to people impacted by natural and other disasters since 1988. Based in St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch, the leading American brewer, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the leading global brewer. For more information, visit www.anheuserbusch.com.

About Busch Beer

Busch was introduced in 1955, holding a noted place in Anheuser-Busch history as the first new brand after the repeal of Prohibition. Busch Light and Busch are currently the sixth and tenth best-selling beers in America, respectively.

Oscar Mayer Invites Fans to Design Their Own Scheme for the No. 6 Ford Mustang, Which Will Appear on Track in Phoenix Next March

CONCORD, N.C. & CHICAGO & PITTSBURGH – (December 3, 2019) – To celebrate its partnership extension with Roush Fenway Racing, Oscar Mayer is inviting fans to share their love of quality meat by designing their own scheme for the No. 6 Oscar Mayer Ford. The winning submission will run on track next March in Phoenix, Arizona.

“At Oscar Mayer, we are always looking for new ways to feed people’s love of meats and what could be more awesome than seeing your own design speed around the race track?” said Matt Riezman, associate director for Oscar Mayer. “Whether it’s a car that encapsulates their love of hot dogs or a design celebrating the glory of sandwiches, we are excited to see the designs fans come up with for scheme of the No. 6 Ford Mustang.” 

From December 3 through 31^st, fans can submit an original scheme at MyNumber6.com for a chance to see their design on track at the FanShield 500 on March 8 in Phoenix. The winning designer and a guest will experience the race in-person with the ultimate race day experience, including a two-night stay, and fan zone and pit access.

Once the top three designs are chosen, fans will vote on the finalists in early January on Oscar Mayer’s official Twitter feed. More details on the sweepstakes, a link to download the design template and information on how the winner is selected can be found at MyNumber6.com.

The race in Phoenix will mark the first of multiple for Oscar Mayer in 2020, who recently signed a two-year extension with Roush Fenway in October. Along with the Oscar Mayer red and yellow displayed across the No. 6 Mustang this season, Oscar Mayer will bring miles of smiles to fans throughout the 2020 season with the help of the Oscar MayerWienermobile and the Hotdoggers. To keep up with the vehicle and see exactly what races it will be at, follow along at https://www.oscarmayer.com/wienermobile.

For more information about Oscar Mayer bacon, Deli Fresh and hot dogs, visit OscarMayer.com or Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

About The Kraft Heinz Company
For 150 years, we have produced some of the world’s most beloved products at The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ: KHC). Our Vision is To Be the Best Food Company, Growing a Better World. We are one of the largest global food and beverage companies, with 2018 net sales of approximately $26 billion. Our portfolio is a diverse mix of iconic and emerging brands. As the guardians of these brands and the creators of innovative new products, we are dedicated to the sustainable health of our people and our planet. To learn more, visit https://www.kraftheinzcompany.com/or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About Roush Fenway Racing
Roush Fenway Racing is one of the most successful teams in NASCAR history. In its 32^nd season, Roush Fenway is a leader in driver development, having launched the careers for many of the top drivers in the sport. Off-track, Roush Fenway is a leader in NASCAR marketing solutions, producing multiple award-winning Social Media, digital content and experiential marketing campaigns. Roush Fenway is co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Jack Roush and Fenway Sports Group, parent company of Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox and English Premier League’s Liverpool F.C. Visit RoushFenway.com, become a fan on Facebook and Instagram, and follow on Twitter at @roushfenway.

Logano Celebrates the Launch of His New Commemorative Hot Wheels Die-Cast with a Record-Breaking 1,941.6 Foot Long Hot Wheels Track in Charlotte, North Carolina

Today, 2018 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Joey Logano partnered with Hot Wheels to successfully break the Guinness World Record for the World’s Longest Hot Wheels track coming in at over 1,941 feet. Inspired by his ongoing success in race circuits during  career spanning over a decade, the Guinness World Record also celebrated the launch of Logano’s all-new 2018 Hot Wheels Ford Mustang featuring custom Joey Logano Racing / Hot Wheels racing livery.

“Hot Wheels has been pushing the boundaries in car culture with it’s challenger spirit, outrageous design and unparalled performance for over 51 years,” said Ricardo Briceno, Senior Director of Brand Marketing for Hot Wheels. “Joey Logano embodies that same spirit in his racing, which is why we’re thrilled to partner with him on this record-breaking track and special edition die-cast. He’s truly brought the Hot Wheels challenger spirit to life today!”

Logano broke the world record at his personal race garage in Charlotte, NC. The track started in Joey’s expansive race shop, weaving through his fantastic car collection – including a Deloreon, custom Rat Rod International, International Scout and a 1933 custom Ford hot rod, 1972 Ford Econoline, 2017 Ford GT– and eventually ending inside the cockpit of his 2018 Hot Wheels Ford Mustang.

During the nail-biting attempt, Logano was at the start and finish lines, pushing the car through the first of 122 boosters and then jumping into his 2018 Hot Wheels Ford Mustang to witness the die-cast dive into the cockpit upon completion. With over a year of planning and 7 days of setting up the track for the perfect run, Logano’s attempt was witnessed by friends, family and NASCAR royalty from the Petty family.

“Talk about a childhood dream come true! I have so many memories playing with my Hot Wheels cars as a kid, and it’s fun to jump back in that space with my son who shares the same passion for his Hot Wheels as I did,” said Joey Logano. “Hot Wheels basically founded my passion for racing – the first car I ever had was a Hot Wheels car – and now being here, setting this world record with my son and an amazing team of Hot Wheels fans is a great way to announce our new special edition Ford Mustang.”

The Hot Wheels Joey Logano 2018 Ford Mustang will be available on shelves for Hot Wheels fans to add to their collections by July 2020.

Check out @joeylogano and @hotwheelsofficial for a look behind the scenes.