Report: Indianapolis 500 signs first presenting sponsorship deal
The Indianapolis 500 will have a presenting sponsor for the next three years.
Per the Indianapolis Star, the official title of the race will be the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil. It’s the first time the Indianapolis 500 has had a sponsor. The May 29 race is the 100th running of the iconic race.
PennGrade Motor Oil is a subsidiary of D-A Lubricants, a Lebanon, Ind., company with ties to the historic race. D-A Lubricants sponsored cars in the 500 from 1955-58, with Bob Sweikert finishing sixth in the ’56 race.
The deal is reportedly worth $4.5 million over three years. Juan Pablo Montoya won the 2015 race, beating Team Penske teammate Will Power.
It’s a similar sponsorship arrangement to the sponsorship agreements at the Rose Bowl. The historic Jan. 1 game is currently presented by Northwestern Mutual. The game first signed a sponsorship agreement in 1999 with AT&T, but the sponsoring company over the past 16 years has not had its name in front of the game’s name.
The Brickyard 400 first had a race sponsor in 2005 when the Sprint Cup Series race at Indianapolis became the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. However, that race is still commonly called the Brickyard 400 and it’s highly unlikely that PennGrade’s name will make it in to casual references of the 500.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
