Andretti Autosport gains Surgere backing for iRacing at Barber

Andretti Autosport has made an interesting expansion in its relationship with Surgere, the sponsor of Marco Andretti’s No. 98 Honda for the August 9 race at Mid-Ohio, by adding the company’s support to the No. 98 iRacing entry Scott Speed will pilot on Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park.

The supply chain solution provider is the first known partner among IndyCar teams to increase its support by branching out into Esports sponsorship with the No. 98 Honda.

"We’re really excited to welcome Surgere to the Andretti team and excited to be able to represent them both in the Esports world with iRacing this weekend as well as physically on track in August,” said team owner Michael Andretti. “Our sport is in a unique time, but the opportunity for growth and exposure in new ways is stronger than ever and we’re really happy to have Surgere along for the ride.”

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The majority of teams competing in the IndyCar iRacing Challenge have replicated their real liveries for iRacing, rather than look to amplify the role of smaller sponsors, or develop new sponsorship opportunities to utilize in virtual races. The move by Andretti and Surgere highlights the ongoing search by teams to deliver value for sponsors in any way possible during the coronavirus shutdown.

IndyCar team owner Dennis Reinbold, whose driver Sage Karam won the first IndyCar iRacing Challenge, told RACER the victory generated real-world value for his sponsors, who were given all of the metrics produced through live streaming and social media.

“We have done that and our marketing arm has been all about that -- to try to connect those dots as best we can for Wix and all our partners,” Reinbold added. “Sage got on (ESPN) SportsCenter the night after and did a great job and all of that factors into it as well. As much exposure as you can get to try to justify our relationships while we’re delayed is a good thing. For now, this is probably the best we can do. I’m really looking forward to Saturday’s race at Barber and see what happens there.”