Andretti team tabs Leverage Agency to seek sponsorship

Andretti Autosport has hired N.Y.-based marketing firm Leverage Agency to assist it with sponsorship sales. It will be the IndyCar team's first exclusive sales agency. Leverage, which is led by CEO Ben Sturner, will be working to sign new sponsors for Andretti, which lost two of its biggest partners, Izod and 7-Eleven, earlier this year.

Andretti Autosport Senior VP & CMO John Lopes said, "We've operated very autonomously over the years, however, with the increasingly competitive landscape of sports sponsorship, we felt it would be prudent to align with a group like Leverage to expand our reach quicker." The race team currently has more than 50 partners. It is searching for partners in the lifestyle and apparel, retail and other categories.