Budweiser to sponsor Harvick, Childress starting in 2011
Richard Childress Racing’s Kevin Harvick will carry sponsorship from Budweiser beginning with the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, the team confirmed Tuesday.
The partnership, first reported to be in the works by FOXSports.com in May, is a three-year agreement. The beer brand will serve as primary sponsor of the No. 29 Chevrolet for 20 points races, two non-points races during Speedweeks at Daytona and co-primary sponsor of the Sprint All-Star Race. It will remain an associate sponsor for the remaining races on the schedule.
This marks the third move for Budweiser in recent Cup seasons.
After spending years with Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the Dale Earnhardt Inc. No. 8, the company shifted to what is now Richard Petty Motorsports to back the No. 9 entry of Kasey Kahne in 2008 – the year that Earnhardt Jr. joined Hendrick.
Now the company, which has been a part of the sport for three decades with drivers such as Darrell Waltrip, Bill Elliott, and Kenny Schrader, is shifting gears once more.
"For me, this is a great brand to be associated with," Harvick said.
Over the course of this season, Kahne has announced that he had signed a contract to join Red Bull Racing for the 2011 season and one to drive for Hendrick Motorsports in 2012. Harvick, meanwhile, lost primary sponsor Shell/Pennzoil to Penske Racing, where it will sponsor the car of Kurt Busch beginning in 2011.
Harvick, the current NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader, and team owner Richard Childress announced their new sponsorship at the company headquarters in Welcome, N.C.
Harvick, 34, is in his 10th season of full-time Sprint Cup competition. He has 14 Cup wins in a stretch that includes 145 top-10 finishes, 72 of them top fives. He has more than $61.2 million in earnings in a career that has included five top-10 career finishes in the standings. He is also a two-time Nationwide Series champion.
