(By Greg Engle)
Posted: Wednesday,July 29th, 2009
(By Greg Engle, NDN Editor)
Crown Royal will become the primary sponsor for the No. 17 Roush-Fenway Racing Ford in 2010 the team announced Tuesday, moving from the No. 26 of Jamie McMurray.
DeWalt Tools announced last week that they would be ending their sponsorship of Kenseth at the end of this season.
With the move, Jamie McMurray and his team currently have no home. One option might be Yates Racing. Yates however has no sponsor and on contract with McMurray who is now a free agent.
“With the conclusion of the contract arrangement with Crown Royal, Roush Fenway Racing’s Cup driver lineup will see Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and David Ragan joining Kenseth to round out our four approved entries,” said Roush Fenway Racing president Geoff Smith.
SONOMA, CA - JUNE 22: Jamie McMurray drives the #26 Crown Royal Ford leads a pack of cars during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at the Infineon Raceway on June 22, 2008 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images for NASCAR)
NASCAR had mandated several years ago that Roush-Fenway pare down its teams from five to four by next season.
“I worked with Diageo’s Smirnoff ICE brand back in 2003 and we developed a great relationship,” said Kenseth. ”They were a part of our championship season and we were able to take part in a lot of really cool promotions and events to promote messages associated with responsible drinking. I’m really looking forward to representing Crown Royal and continuing that great work.”
Crown Royal entered the sport in 2005 as sponsor of the No. 97 team at Roush and in 2006 became sponsor of Jamie McMurray and the No. 26 team.
“We will miss Jamie [McMurray] as he has been an amazing partner both on and off the track taking our ‘Be a champion. Drink Responsibly,’ campaign to new heights,” said Dan Sanborn, senior director of corporate relations for Diageo. “We were lucky to have him as part of our team and whatever sponsor aligns with him will have a great person working on their behalf. We wish him well.”
Share on Facebook - Email this page: 
Rate this article:
