News Article

Dale Jr. Announced as Face of '09 Nationwide Series Promo

January 20, 2009

MEMPHIS – The “Nationwide Insurance Dash 4 Cash” will add $ 25,000 to the winner’s purse at the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series races in Memphis, Nashville, Kentucky and Iowa. And guess who the pitch man is for the marketing campaign that begins in February?!

Nationwide Insurance announced Jan. 20 at NASCAR Nationwide Series “Media Day” that Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his company, JR Motorsports, will be featured in its new marketing campaign. Despite the obvious opportunity for a racing pun, the ad does not include the company’s famous Life Comes at You Fast line and is not intended to be humorous. It is framed as a customer testimonial and true story from a family that just happens to have one of the richest traditions in NASCAR.

“When we considered our approach for 2009, the Earnhardt family’s long history with Nationwide presented us with a great opportunity to talk about how many of our customers stay with us for a lifetime,” said John Aman, associate vice president of strategic sponsorships for Nationwide.

“We've had success in building buzz with Super Bowl ads in the past,” Aman said. “At this point in time, we're focused on developing a deeper relationship with NASCAR's very loyal fan base as the official provider of auto, home and life insurance and through this new partnership with JR Motorsports.”

Nationwide has created an interactive micro site, which features behind-the-scenes videos and photos from the recent ad shoot.

The campaign will also involve personal appearances with Earnhardt Jr. and Brad Keselowski, who drives the No. 88 for JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and – as a series regular – will be eligible for the “Nationwide Insurance Dash 4 Cash” incentive. So will full-time double-duty drivers like Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch.

But what about Earnhardt Jr.? Could he run for the Nationwide money in Memphis?

According to the rules, if a driver who is not eligible wins one of the races, prize money will be rolled over to the next race in the competition.

Not much incentive there. But what about that earlier offer of a lifetime supply of Memphis ribs?!

While it appears that the odds are not in the track’s favor to entice him back for a race, we’d still like to hear from our fans. Tell us what YOU think at info@memphismotorsports.com.

And don’t miss the chance to stay in the middle of the action all season long with the ESPN “Driver Pick ’Em” presented by Nationwide Insurance – an interactive contest on ESPN.com where fans can log-in weekly to select the winners of 10 head-to-head match-ups in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The contest will include cash prizes for weekly and season-long winners.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series returns to Memphis Motorsports Park on Oct. 23-24.

For tickets, click here or call us toll-free at 1-866-40-SPEED (407-7333).