Notes of Interest:
More McDonald’s: As part of the relationship, McDonald’s iconic golden arches will grace the hood of Jamie McMurray’s red No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet for multiple races. They will also receive associate sponsor placement on the No.1 Chevrolet for the remaining events in the 2010 NSCS season. In addition McDonald’s will receive primary logo placement on McMurray’s firesuit, the pit equipment and crew uniforms. The agreement will also include several activation elements aligned with McDonald’s overall marketing and community initiatives.
McMurray on the Track: The partnership with McDonald’s comes on the heels of the biggest win of McMurray’s career in The Great American Race – the Daytona 500. McMurray led the final two laps in the No. 1 Chevrolet, holding off a late race charge from Dale Earnhardt Jr. to cross the finish line first. The victory marked McMurray’s fourth win in the NSCS and second with owner’s Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates. His first win came in 2002 in his second start with Chip Ganassi Racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Three of McMurray’s four wins have come in restrictor plate races. In fact, McMurray is one of only five current drivers to own at least three restrictor plate wins. Overall McMurray has four wins, 31 top-five, 81 top-10 and four poles in 263 career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts.
McMurray Comes Home: McMurray broke into the NSCS in 2002 as a member of the Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates team of drivers and spent three full seasons there from 2003-05. Those three seasons are statistically the best seasons of McMurray’s career. In those three years he had a combined 18 top-five finishes and 46 top-10s and competed until the end for a spot in the 10-member Chase field every year. He finished 13th, 11th and 12th in those three seasons. His 23 top-10 finishes in 2004 were tied for second most with Jimmie Johnson and behind only Jeff Gordon in the NSCS.
Quoteboard:
John Lewicki, Sr. Director of Alliance Marketing, McDonald’s: “We could not be happier to be working with both the Earnhardt Ganassi team and Jamie McMurray. The fact that Jamie is such a big McDonald’s fan and such a strong competitor on the track is going to offer us tremendous opportunities to engage with NASCAR fans in surprising and compelling ways throughout the season.”
Steve Lauletta, Team President: “We have been working on this program with McDonald’s for some time now and I am sure that Jamie winning the Daytona 500 didn’t hurt but I also think it is a testament to the great job that our competition side is doing on the track. McDonald’s is an iconic brand that only adds to the stellar group of partners that we already have. We are very excited about this relationship that will be a win-win for both parties. In addition there are a lot of creative ideas that we are discussing to take advantage of Jamie’s love of Big Macs and the similarities of their names.”
Jamie McMurray, Driver: “I couldn’t be more thrilled about working with McDonald’s. As I said in victory lane at Daytona, I love having a Big Mac after a big race, so I’m thrilled to have this opportunity. Personally, this is great for me to represent such an iconic brand. More importantly I believe this signing says a lot about the overall direction of our organization”
About McDonald’s
McDonald’s USA, LLC, is the leading foodservice provider in the United States serving a variety of wholesome foods made from quality ingredients to more than 26 million customers every day. Nearly 90 percent of McDonald’s 14,000 U.S. restaurants are independently owned and operated by local business men and women. Customers can now log online for free at any of the 11,000 participating Wi-Fi enabled McDonald’s U.S. restaurants. For more information, visit www.mcdonalds.com, or follow us on Twitter (@McDonalds) and Facebook (Facebook.com/McDonalds) for updates on our business, promotions and products.
- Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, Press Release
