Pocono Raceway breaks tradition by selling naming rights
Bob Pockrass
Bob Pockrass began covering NASCAR in 1992, primarily covering short-track racing and events. He has worked for Street & Smith's Motorsports Group since 2003.
TALLADEGA, Ala. – For more than a decade, it’s been easy to tell which events on the Sprint Cup schedule were at Pocono Raceway – they were the ones without a title sponsor, the Pennsylvania 500 and the Pocono 500.
That has now changed, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing.
For the last couple of years, Pocono’s second race has been sponsored by Sunoco as part of a fund-raising effort for the Pennsylvania Red Cross.
But not since 1996 has the track sold the naming rights to it races. That is until now as Gillette and Target have paired to sponsor the Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 Presented by Target at the track in June.
While helping promote tourism in the area by using the state and town names for its races, the Pocono management realized that with the economy suffering, selling the naming rights for a race can be another source of revenue.
“The last couple of years, we’ve been quietly looking,” Pocono President Brandon Igdalsky said. “The right partners came along this year and we thought it was a good thing to do.
“The sport’s changed a little bit and we need to keep moving forward with it.”
Igdalsky is a grandson of track founders Doc and Rose Mattioli and was able to convince them the time was right to sell the naming rights.
It might have been nice to have races called the Pennsylvania 500 and the Pocono 500, but if selling the sponsorship allows the family to upgrade the facility or at least keep ticket prices down, this one break from tradition will be a smart move.
