- BetMGM and Richard Childress Racing have partnered up for a wide ranging promotional deal.
- The deal includes primary sponsorship for ‘select races’ on the 2021 NASCAR schedule.
- This is the first team level sportsbook deal in NASCAR.
Another day, another sports betting partnership deal. This time it’s in NASCAR–a sport that began to warm to the realities of sports betting’s popularity long before any other. Richard Childress Racing (RCR) has announced a ‘multifaceted deal’ with US gaming operator BetMGM. BetMGM has been designated as ‘the official sports betting operator’ of the NASCAR Cup Series team.
One byproduct of this deal–you’ll start seeing BetMGM logos on RCR Racing’s cars–the iconic #3 Chevrolet driven by Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick’s #8 Chevrolet. As any NASCAR fan can tell you the #3 and #8 were previously piloted by Dale Earnhardt, Sr. and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. respectively. Here’s some more details of the relationship:
The two parties will collaborate on a variety of marketing and activation assets, including primary sponsorship for select races during the 2021 Nascar Cup Series.
The agreement with kicks off this month at the season-opening Daytona 500 on February 14, with sponsorship logos on RCR’s No. 3 Chevrolet driven by Austin Dillon, as well as the No. 8 Chevrolet driven by Tyler Reddick.
Dillon has a ton of sponsors including Dow Chemicals and Bass Pro Shops so you probably won’t see BetMGM as a primary sponsor too often this year. At a big race like Daytona you’ll most likely see his car decked out in the Bass Pro Shops logo. Tyler Reddick’s top sponsor is Caterpillar aka the world’s largest manufacturer of construction equipment. He’s also sponsored by Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, a restaurant that I’ve seen in parts of the South but have never eaten at. They’re owned by restaurant megacorp Darden and even have a ‘#8 Special’ chicken tender platter on the menu. They claim that it’s ‘NASCAR Driver Tyler Reddick’s favorite meal’ but keep in mind that he’s just 25 and hopefully his palate will get more sophisticated.
Richard Childress, Chairman and CEO of Richard Childress Racing, spoke glowingly of the team’s new partner. That’s his job–NASCAR is great at plugging sponsors which is why they usually have no trouble getting them:
“BetMGM is at the forefront of the sports betting and online gaming industry and Richard Childress Racing can certainly relate to their pioneering vision. This innovative relationship will provide opportunities to collaborate in new and groundbreaking ways.”
Matt Prevost, BetMGM’s Chief Revenue Officer, highlighted RCR’s long standing rep in motorsports:
“Richard Childress Racing is one of the most respected and formidable teams in motorsports. Together we will develop compelling marketing opportunities and activations that introduce the BetMGM sports betting brand to NASCAR fans worldwide.”
Here’s my wish for the new year. Well, one of them along with getting past the COVID-19 pandemic so I can travel internationally again. I’d like gaming industry types to quit talking in jargon when they give quotes like this. I know that ‘activations’ are important but outside of a tiny niche no one knows what the hell they are. Sports betting needs to start acting like Bass Pro Shops or any other company. People like fishing for bass, Bass Pro Shops is in the business of selling equipment for that. They want to promote their brand. People like sports betting, BetMGM is in the business of offering sports betting. They want to promote their brand.
Generally speaking, this type of relationship is on a macro level great for sports betting. The more that sports betting becomes part of the sports/pop culture mainstream the better. That being said, let’s quit acting like sports betting is something that needs to be talked about obliquely–like herpes medication or that erectile dysfunction treatment where the dude throws the football through the tire as a metaphor for banging his wife. Or more appropriately, the NASCAR version:
This is the first ‘team level NASCAR deal with a sports betting company’–at least according to the press release. From a semantical standpoint maybe but Brendan Gaughan might beg to differ:
There’s a distinction between BetMGM’s team level sponsorship deal and the ‘property level’ deals with BetMGM, Penn National Gaming, IMG Arena and WynnBet. NASCAR will also begin an enhanced live betting offering this year in partnership with Genius Sports/Betgenius.
