Chilton sponsor deal strictly B2B

Chip Ganassi gets a fully sponsored car that does zero to grow IndyCar

Wednesday, news broke that the #8 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet driven by Verizon IndyCar Series rookie Max Chilton will be sponsored by corporate insurance firm Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Headquartered in Itasca, IL, the publicly traded company has a market cap of $6.69 billion and offices in 31 nations.

Of course, the general perception here, whether fair or unfair, is that Chilton, the son of insurance entrepreneur Grahame Chilton, purchased his ride using his father’s connections. And it takes little more than a quick Google search to reveal that Capsicum Re, the reinsurance division of Grahame Chilton’s investment company Capsicum, is in “a joint venture partnership with Arthur J. Gallagher," as it says on the website. AR1 has also heard from sources that AJG has an option to purchase Capsicum although that is not confirmed.

Not that there’s anything wrong with any of this per se. Business-to-business has been the IndyCar M.O. for the last few decades, and B2B isn’t in itself a bad thing. Also, people use connections all the time to help get jobs, advance in careers, etc., etc. in many lines of work, racing being one. We will not hold young Chilton to task for doing the same thing many race car drivers or regular citizens do on a daily basis.

As for CGR, this deal keeps its IndyCar program at four cars, which keeps crewmen on the payroll, and gives the series another entry at events.

Further, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary there is zero indication of anything under-handed about the deal. Sure, people don’t like “driver X got the ride because his daddy is rich," but that is no fault of anyone. Seemingly, all parties involved saw adequate return in the deal helping to achieve their stated goals. Chilton did what is best for his career, AJG its company, and CGR its team.

The above noted, we do believe it is fair to ask what this deal and others like it do for the sport.

Keep in mind, INDYCAR is, or at least should be, in the business of forming partnerships that are beneficial to the interests of all parties involved (teams, series, drivers, and sponsors). To do this they need to sell sponsors on the commercial potential of the product as a vehicle to help companies build their brands. Such sponsors will not only insure a full field of cars at events, but act as partners with a vested interest in building the series; a rising tide lifts all boats scenario.

And AJG may see that in IndyCar. I just doubt we’ll see any advertisements telling IndyCar fans to go to the AJG website and type in the promo code “CHILTON". The greater likelihood is once again INDYCAR is merely an auxiliary party to some business transaction. While such deals brings cars to the series, they also allow outside entities with no vested interest in the sport to determine who competes and the price of entry.

Of course, some will note that for a series desperate for sponsors and entries, it is quite bold of me to snicker at another sponsored car on the grid.

I’m not snickering at all. I’m simply noting that a sponsored car is all the series is getting.

Brian Carroccio reporting for AutoRacing1