Danica Patrick’s sponsorship issues haven’t completely gone away, but this helps a bit.
If Stewart-Haas Racing had a headache over Danica Patrick and who’d be sponsoring the #10 after Nature’s Bakery flaked out, consider this a partial painkiller.
The race team announced today that Aspen Dental was increasing its sponsorship role for Patrick’s No. 10 Ford Fusion, appearing on the hood as the primary sponsor for ” a double-digit slate of races in 2017.” Previously, the company was expected to be the primary for just four races this season.
“Our commitment to Danica Patrick goes back almost four years and our relationship with SHR even further,” Bob Fontana, chairman and CEO of Aspen Dental Management, Inc., said in the SHR press release. “She is a strong advocate for the Aspen Dental brand and a wonderful ambassador for programs like the Healthy Mouth Movement. Danica and Stewart-Haas Racing have encouraged fans to get started on the road to better oral health care while showcasing how Aspen Dental practices make it easy for them. We look forward to our enhanced partnership.”
That doesn’t completely end the sponsorship woes for Patrick and SHR, who expected to have Nature’s Bakery around for 20-plus races. The abrupt termination of their relationship has now ended up in court, leading to ongoing questions about who would grace the hood of the No. 10.
Let’s say for the sake of argument that Aspen Dental is in for 12 races. Patrick’s team is expected to have sponsors TaxACT, Code 3 Associates and Mobil 1 for a total of about eight races combined, which brings the overall count to 20.
The result would be some work left to do for SHR, either trying to find another company to make a similar commitment to Aspen Dental, getting other sponsors already in the fold to buy in for more, or just to bite the bullet. One suspects that co-owner Gene Haas could put his own Haas Automation on the hood if necessary, or Ford could step in since it has pledged its support to ensure Patrick isn’t hung out to dry.
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In any case, the fruits of this increased partnership will be seen right away, as the No. 10 Aspen Dental Ford Fusion will make its first appearance of 2017 on Feb. 26 at the Daytona 500 .