IndyCar casts wide net in sponsorship search

The IndyCar Series continues its search for a new title sponsor and more as the 2018 season comes to a close this weekend in Sonoma.

With Verizon’s five-year title sponsorship deal set to conclude, IndyCar CEO Mark Miles says the pursuit of a replacement for the telecommunications giant, along with acquisitions of other key series sponsors, is an ongoing process.

“No news to announce, but we’re working hard on it and have engaged the CSM agency to help, which then connected us to Harlan Stone, who is one of the premier people in the sponsor-finding world,” Miles told RACER. “And we have three people in New York, working full-time, to broaden the funnel and improve our odds moving forward. We have a lot of companies we’re speaking with, and I’m encouraged by the momentum.”

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In addition to replacing Verizon, Miles’ team is pursuing other sponsors for the series’ biggest event, and to bolster other areas where commercial branding makes sense.

“We’re also working on a presenting sponsor for the Indy 500, the Indy Grand Prix, and for official sponsors of things like a technology sponsor of the series, for example,” he added.

With IndyCar’s visit to the Bay Area and all of the large companies that operate in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, Miles will sit down with more potential partners throughout the weekend.

“We have meetings with more than one company this weekend,” he said. “And some involve introducing them to the sport, taking a look inside at our events, and exchanging [advertising] decks and ideas before hopefully meeting again to see what progress can be made.”