Home Depot Sells Off Sponsorship For Some Races

(Originally published on March 6, 2008)

In an era where multiple primary sponsors have muddled the bond between driver and car, one of the more consistent images has been the orange No. 20 Home Depot ride of Tony Stewart.

But that relationship will be tweaked somewhat this year, as Joe Gibbs Racing President J.D. Gibbs told the Press Wednesday that the home improvement warehouse has sold off the primary sponsorship for some races to another company.

"At times we'll bring people to them and say, 'Hey, what do you think,' and usually in the past they say, 'Thanks but no thanks,'" Gibbs said. "I think they found a partner here that makes sense for them."

Gibbs wouldn't divulge who the partner is, saying, "I'll let them go into all that detail when the time is right." He did add, though, that the agreement is more than a one-off deal.

Stewart, a member of the Coca-Cola Racing Family, ran a car with the soft drink company's sports beverage, POWERade, as the primary sponsor at Dover in 2006.

Home Depot has shared primary signage with assorted other sponsors, including animated movies Shrek 2 and Madagascar, for one-off races in the past.

A Home Depot PR rep reached by the Press following the interview with Gibbs had no comment other than adding that such announcements would be made by JGR. But without prompting, the spokesperson asked if anything had been mentioned during the interview about restaurant chain Subway. Stewart regularly stars in commercials for the company, and his car has carried small signage of the company's logo.

Selling off races obviously saves money in a sport that is getting increasingly pricey to sponsor. But these partnerships can be as much about creating business-to-business opportunities as cutting costs, as witnessed by Aflac joining with Office Depot to serve as a primary sponsor for the Ford Fusion of Carl Edwards.

JGR's contracts with Stewart and Home Depot run through 2009.