NASCAR has a new official credit-card provider and Chip Ganassi Racing Teams has a new sponsor for the No. 1 Chevrolet of driver Jamie McMurray, FOXSports.com learned in a series of exclusive interviews.
Nevada-based Credit One Bank has signed a multi-year deal to be the “Official Credit Card of NASCAR.” As part of the agreement, the bank will offer fans officially licensed NASCAR-themed credit cards.
In addition, the company will be McMurray’s primary sponsor for three races per year and an associate sponsor for the remainder of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule. McMurray will be a spokesman for Credit One to promote the brand and its official status.
The No. 1 Credit One Bank Chevrolet SS will debut on the track at Richmond International Raceway on April 24.
For NASCAR, it’s a good move because it brings a new sponsor into the sport for the first time and it fills what had been an open category since Bank of America’s departure from the space.
“We were in the market to find a replacement for Bank of America, broadly, in the financial services category,” Steve Phelps, NASCAR’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer, told FOXSports.com. “And in our due diligence, we found out the folks at Credit One were interested in NASCAR and interested in affinity credit cards with us. After a lot of back and forth on both sides and real desire to get a deal done, we were able to do just that.”
Credit One will have a strong at-track presence with a show car and a space inside The Fanatics merchandising area at the tracks, where they will be able to sign up consumers for Visa credit cards.
“We think it’s going to be a good win for the fans,” said Phelps, “We think it’s going to be good for Credit One, and obviously we’re excited here at the sanctioning body and we know that Ganassi is as well. It’s great to have some new blood in the sport.”
Steve Lauletta, the president, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, said the alliance of sponsor and team is an excellent fit for both sides.
“It just felt like we were aligned with our approach to business and, obviously, having Jamie drive the No. 1 car and them being Credit One is a nice connection, Lauletta told FOXSports.com. “All things came together and we’re excited that they’re going to become partners with the team.”
Laura Faulkner, vice president of marketing communications for Credit One, said the bank is one of the 10 largest issuers of Visa cards in the country. “We’ve really been looking for opportunities to expand our brand awareness and brand presence for some time.”
Faulkner said NASCAR was a natural fit.
“NASCAR is a fantastic brand with a huge national presence that really gives their sponsors an opportunity to engage their fans with their brands,” she said. “When there was an opportunity for us to work with NASCAR, we just couldn’t turn that down.”
