Axalta (NYSE: AXTA), a leading global supplier of liquid and powder coatings, and 12-time NASCAR Cup Series champions Hendrick Motorsports have agreed to a four-year contract extension that will take one of the most enduring sponsorships in NASCAR through 2022.
Beginning in 2018 and throughout the new 2019-2022 agreement, Axalta will be featured as a 25-race primary sponsor of Hendrick Motorsports’ Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 teams competing in the Cup Series. Over the next two years, Axalta will be a primary sponsor of Hendrick Motorsports drivers Alex Bowman (15 races in 2018 and 12 races in 2019) and William Byron (10 races in 2018 and 13 races in 2019). Schedules for the 2020-2022 seasons will be announced at a later date.
“Motorsports is in Axalta’s DNA,” said Charlie Shaver, Axalta’s chairman and CEO. “For more than 25 years, our partnership with Hendrick Motorsports has enabled us to showcase our industry leading performance coatings that have helped make cars lighter, more efficient, and look terrific. We’re excited to continue our successful partnership with Hendrick Motorsports through 2022.”
The new pact extends a multi-faceted partnership – now in its 26th full season – that began in November 1992 when Axalta first sponsored driver Jeff Gordon, who went on to win four Cup titles and 93 points-paying races through 2015. The relationship continued in 2016 and 2017 with NASCAR’s 15-time most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. behind the wheel. In addition, last May Axalta opened a 36,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art Customer Experience Center on the Hendrick Motorsports campus outside Charlotte, North Carolina, to enable customers to train and be part of a full racing experience.
“It is the blend of high performance and our continuous drive to better our organizations every day that link Axalta and Hendrick Motorsports,” Shaver said. “We could not be prouder of our partnership and are excited for what the future holds with two phenomenal young talents in Alex Bowman and William Byron. Axalta likes to ‘paint winners,’ and with these two rising stars we believe the future is going to be bright.”
Bowman, 24, and rookie of the year contender Byron, 20, are each in their first full season competing for Hendrick Motorsports. Bowman, driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, last month earned the pole position for the 60th running of the Daytona 500. Byron, who drives the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, is coming off winning the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship.
“We are so proud of our partnership with Axalta,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “Their long-term commitment to our organization and our sport as a whole has been unbelievable. They are constantly innovating and investing to keep the program fresh, enhance the experience for their customers and ultimately drive value for their business. Projects like the Customer Experience Center on our campus are unprecedented and reinforce the strength of our relationship. We’ve worked together for more than a quarter of a century, and I believe it’s just the beginning.”
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