Earnhardt Jr. begins sponsor hunt, seeks championship with Navy
By Jeff Gluck - Associate Editor
Friday, July 11, 2008
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JOLIET, Ill. – Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he was “a little surprised” to learn that the Navy would no longer sponsor his JR Motorsports NASCAR Nationwide Series team following this season, but he ultimately understood the decision.
Earnhardt Jr. said he knows that the Navy always evaluates its sponsorship every season and examines where to spend money to attract the most recruits.
“Apparently, they have seen a new avenue or another avenue that will help them effectively recruit more young men and women for the Navy than with our racing program,” he said.
Earnhardt Jr. said NASCAR was a great place for the Navy to get its message out to young adults, but suggested the military branch might be looking in other places to spend its sponsor dollars.
“The demographic for them is here, but there is a larger demographic of younger adults in other areas at maybe other sporting events,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I would be sad to see them leave motorsports entirely. I like their relationship with NASCAR – if they fit in and work with another team, I would like to see that instead of them leaving the sport entirely.”
Since the Navy began sponsoring Earnhardt Jr.’s teams, the organization has earned its first victory, merged with powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports and seen success with driver Brad Keselowski, who is currently second in the series standings.
“I can’t afford to run that program without them and I couldn’t afford to build it the way I did without them from the start,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “They are huge [in] the company’s history, regardless of where it goes from here.”
Earnhardt Jr. said he hopes the sponsor and team can win a championship together before the relationship ends – much as Kevin Harvick and the Coast Guard did in 2006.
JR Motorsports will also begin looking for a new sponsor, he said.
“We will entertain discussing our options with new sponsors and potential sponsors as soon as we can, but also want to show a lot of respect for the Navy and what they have done for us,” he said.
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Brad Keselowski
Comments
3 responses to "Earnhardt Jr. begins sponsor hunt, seeks championship with Navy"
Susan Berna said:
Jul 12, 2008 at 5:41 AMThe Navy has gotten great coverage with it's sponsorship with JR Motorsports. I believe this is just the beginning of the armed forces pulling sponsorships. With having loved ones in the armed forces I know the money is needed elsewhere far more in protecting and helping our troops. Our armed forces don't have to advertise because they are always on our minds. Nascar does a fantastic job of recognizing this at every race which I thank them for.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportTimothy Schultze said:
Jul 14, 2008 at 1:48 PMThe navy is to move there sport sponsor dollars to water craft power boats starting in 2009 they were talking about this on Sirius radio more bang and more fitting and has nothing to do with TROOPS and that farce
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» Confirm Abuse Reportemily bagwell said:
Jul 17, 2008 at 8:35 PMWell Professor Timothy, why don't you cut someone down. I think Susan's sentiment for our troops is nice. I don't know too much about power boats, but I also don't ever hear people saying: "Oh, let's hurry to the telly, don't want to miss the power boats!" NAVY may get it cheaper, but I doubt if they will get more bang.
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