Axalta to make big splash with Daytona deal
The deal grants the Philadelphia-based company the right to brand the facility’s central entrance, or what Daytona refers to as an injector, joining Toyota, Chevrolet, Sunoco and Florida Hospital as founding partners of the track. Terms weren’t revealed, but sources have said that track owner International Speedway Corp. pitched the injectors for around $2 million to $2.5 million annually over 10- to 15-year terms.
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| Axalta Coating Systems will put its colors on Daytona International Speedway’s new central injector. Rendering: DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY |
Daytona completed a three-year, $400 million renovation this year along its frontstretch, where it built the massive, branded entrances that include sponsor-designed “neighborhoods" around them. For example, Toyota’s injector offers fans the ability to test-drive a Tundra truck on an off-road course, while Florida Hospital’s focuses on how people can maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Axalta, which does vehicle and industrial coating systems and has been a longtime sponsor of Hendrick Motorsports, will start planning its section of the racetrack right away, but the area won’t be fully done until 2017.
Charlie Shaver, Axalta’s chairman and CEO, said the company has seen a 3:1 return on investment in NASCAR and views the sponsorship as an opportunity to reach key business-to-business customers while also forging deeper ties with ISC and the companies with which it does business.
“Our customer base expands by being part of NASCAR; if you just look at the number of partners NASCAR has, we’ve actually had direct relationships with some of them that we met through racing," Shaver said, pointing to the relationship Axalta has with NASCAR team sponsor Haas Automation as an example. “Being aligned with Daytona and the speedway — it’s the most widely recognized [racetrack]; even if you go outside the country, they know Daytona — so for us, it’s great to be aligned with that."
The theme of the space likely will fall in line with the company’s tag line “We Paint Winners" and have examples of Axalta’s engineering and technology. Axalta, formerly DuPont Performance Coatings before being acquired by The Carlyle Group in 2013 for $4.9 billion, does business in around 130 countries and had revenue of $4.1 billion in 2015.
While ISC had considered holding onto the central injector until NASCAR’s new Cup Series title sponsor is named, Joie Chitwood, ISC’s new COO, said ISC executives were comfortable signing the deal now, adding that Axalta was one of the original companies that was pitched on the sponsorship.
“When you look at what Axalta does in the car industry — not just cars but even things like motorcycles — it’s a great fit for not just who we are, but also our other partners we have and partners that just race on our track," said Chitwood, who had been president of DIS since 2010 before ceding the role two weeks ago as part of his promotion (see related story). “I think they fit our family of partners quite well." Adam Stern/SportsBusinessDaily