Jeff Gordon’s sponsor DuPont sold, will remain
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| Gordon's new paint scheme |
CORRECTION: DuPont's car-paint unit "has been rebranded as Axalta Coating Systems" and will sponsor NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon for 14 Sprint Cup races this season, according to Jeff Gluck of USA TODAY. This will "undoubtedly mean some adjustment for fans used to the DuPont car." Axalta's "first race on the car" will be the April 13 Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. The "only other race announced for the car so far" is the Nov. 17 Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. DuPont's coating business was sold last year for $4.9B to the Carlyle Group, which "holds a portfolio of business that includes Hertz Rental Car and Dunkin' Donuts." USATODAY.com
02/04/13 DuPont's sale of its automotive paint division will not affect the brand's sponsorship of Jeff Gordon in 2013, spokesperson Jon Edwards confirmed Friday. Questions about Gordon's sponsorship arose last August when private equity firm the Carlyle Group announced it would acquire DuPont Performance Coatings for $4.9 billion. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2013.
"DuPont Performance Coatings, LLC. will be the primary sponsor on the #24 Chevrolet SS for 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events in 2013. CromaxPro, a DuPont Performance Coatings, LLC. product, will be featured as a major associate in all remaining races," Edwards said in an email Friday. DuPont was also the primary sponsor for 14 races last year. According to Edwards the No. 24 DuPont car paint scheme and schedule will be made available in the near future. The sponsorship commitment ends after the 2013 season.
02/04/13 The Carlyle Group, one of the world's largest and most successful investment firms with a portfolio of businesses that includes Hertz Rental Car, Allison Transmission and Dunkin' Donuts, announced that it has acquired DuPont's paint business. Although the people, products and technologies will remain the same, the paint business, which sponsors the #24 Chevy of Hendrick Motorsports and driver Jeff Gordon in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, has been rebranded as Axalta Coating Systems.
The Axalta Coating Systems name will begin appearing on the #24 team car in the second quarter of the year. In the meantime, on-car branding will include familiar automotive paint brands and products such as Standox, Spies Hecker, Imron, and CromaxPro. The Axalta Coating Systems contract with Hendrick Motorsports includes 14 primary paint schemes annually on Gordon's #24 car. The first primary paint scheme of 2013 will be at Texas Motor Speedway in April and will run at various races throughout the year including the season-ending race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Hendrick PR