Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (SMI) and Coca-Cola North America (CCNA) are extending their long-term partnership through 2015, ensuring NASCAR fans who visit premier speedways in locations such as Charlotte, Atlanta and Las Vegas can open a Coke and Open Happiness as they cheer on their favorite drivers.
“We’ve built a deep connection between Coca-Cola, NASCAR and its fans. Working with our partners at SMI, we will continue to intensify that bond by creating even more programs that bring fans closer to Coca-Cola and the sport they love.”
Under the terms of the new agreement, CCNA brands will continue as the “Official Soft Drink,” “Official Sparkling Beverage,” “Official Water, “Official Sports Drink" and "Official Enhanced Water" for six SMI tracks, which include:
- Atlanta Motor Speedway (Hampton, GA)
- New Hampshire Motor Speedway (Loudon, NH)
- Infineon Raceway Speedway (Sonoma, CA)
- Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Las Vegas, NV)
- Charlotte Motor Speedway (Concord, NC)
- Texas Motor Speedway (Ft. Worth, TX)
The agreement also features title sponsorship of the Coca-Cola 600 -- the longest continuous sponsorship of any race in NASCAR -- at Charlotte Motor Speedway through 2015.
“Coca-Cola and Speedway Motorsports share the same passion to refresh and enhance the racing experience for fans,” said Beatriz Perez, Senior Vice President, Integrated Marketing, Coca-Cola North America. “We’ve built a deep connection between Coca-Cola, NASCAR and its fans. Working with our partners at SMI, we will continue to intensify that bond by creating even more programs that bring fans closer to Coca-Cola and the sport they love.”
“For more than 25 years, we’ve worked together with Coca-Cola to entertain and refresh fans at the world’s greatest speedways, including one of NASCAR’s cornerstone events, the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day Weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway,” said Marcus Smith, President and Chief Operating Officer of Speedway Motorsports, Inc. “Speedway Motorsports is pleased to extend this partnership between Coca-Cola and six of our speedways where we proudly serve Coca-Cola products along with the greatest racing entertainment in the world.”
The SMI partnership is a key part of Coca-Cola’s overall role in racing. The Coca-Cola NASCAR relationship, the association with a majority of tracks, the Coca-Cola 600, the Coke Zero 400 and the drivers of the Coca-Cola Racing Family create an ideal relationship between Coca-Cola, the sport and fans. It offers a multi-faceted experience that connects Coca-Cola with NASCAR fans at every level -- locally, nationally, at the track, in store, at home and elsewhere.
Through this partnership extension, Coca-Cola and SMI will continue to create programs that engage NASCAR fans at SMI tracks and in the local markets and regions where the tracks are located. NASCAR-themed advertising, packaging, promotions, at-track activations and customer-specific programs will all be part of the mix designed to create excitement among racing fans.
Source: Speedway Motorsports, Inc
