BODYARMOR Sports Drink will sponsor Ryan Blaney at Daytona in July
By Nick Tylwalk
One of the hottest up and coming drivers in NASCAR has added another company to his sponsorship package for 2018.
If Ryan Blaney keeps performing the way he has, he won’t have to worry about sponsorship for his No. 12 Team Penske Ford for very long. Not that he has, mind you, but there are still a few races for which his team had not announced a primary sponsorship. One of those blanks was filled in today with the announcement that BODYARMOR Sports Drink will take the spot on Blaney’s hood for the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona in July.
While new to NASCAR and racing sponsorship in general, BODYARMOR already has a number of pro athletes among its endorsers and investors. Foremost among them is NBA legend Kobe Bryant, but the roster of current stars is also impressive as it includes James Harden, Mike Trout, Anthony Rizzo, Andrew Luck and Dustin Johnson.
Blaney is certainly aware of that star power as he gets ready to be the latest to represent the brand.
“It’s great to build on the relationship with BODYARMOR and have them as part of the development of the No. 12 Ford team,” Blaney said in a Team Penske press release. “BODYARMOR has partnered with some great athletes in many different sports and we look forward to adding to that legacy and increasing the presence of their brand through our team in NASCAR.”
BODYARMOR will also serve as an associate sponsor for four other races this season, first appearing on the No. 12 Ford at Kansas in May. But the Daytona race will be its time to shine, particularly since it will feature the “BODYARMOR Heroes” promotion. By using the #BODYARMORHeroes hashtag with a photo and short description, fans will be able to honor their own own personal military hero by posting to Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. One winner will be picked to have their hero’s image on Blaney’s car in the Coke Zero, and said hero will get to meet Blaney while attending the race.
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Blaney has so far run his 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races with Menards and Dex Imaging as his primary sponsors, with their bright yellow (Menards) and red and white (Dex) paint schemes providing for strikingly different looks on the track. Other companies announced as sponsors for the No. 12 include PPG, REV Group and Fitzgerald Glider Kits. The reveals so far cover 27 of the 36 Cup Series races for the year (unless our math is way off), so there should be more sponsorship announcements to come — and probably no problem filling the remaining inventory considering how fast Blaney has looked for Penske.