Nationwide Sponsoring Stenhouse’s No. 17

With Danica Patrick as his squeeze and new sponsorship from Nationwide, Ricky Stenhouse is one happy fella.

Nationwide Insurance has signed a two-year contract with Roush Fenway Racing to sponsor the No. 17 Ford Fusion driven by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in select NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events.

Nationwide Insurance will be the primary sponsor for three races in 2013, four races in 2014 and will serve as associate sponsor for all other Sprint Cup events.

"We’ve had a 15-year presence in NASCAR and this is the first time we’ve sponsored a car in any NASCAR series," said Matt Jauchius, chief marketing officer for Nationwide Insurance. "We built a solid relationship with Roush Fenway and two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion and Nationwide Insurance member, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and we’re eager to carry that momentum forward and enhance our existing integrated NASCAR marketing platform."

The No. 17 Nationwide Insurance Ford Fusion will debut in on Aug. 24 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. Nationwide will also sponsor Stenhouse on Sept. 7 at Richmond (Va.) Int’l Raceway and Oct. 20 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. The race dates in 2014 are yet to be determined.