Richard Childress Racing announced Monday that Brown-Forman will not renew their Jack Daniels sponsorship on the No. 07 RCR Chevy beyond this season.
In a statement the company said that ‘a change in Brown-Forman’s spending priorities led to the decision to conclude the sponsorship that began in 2005.’
“Jack Daniel’s has enjoyed a good five-year run with Richard Childress Racing (RCR) and NASCAR, and we are pleased with the overall performance of our sponsorship program,” said Tim Rutledge, vice president and brand director for Jack Daniel’s. “We have enjoyed building strong relationships with the people in Richard’s organization and throughout NASCAR. While it is difficult for us to end our formal relationship with RCR, the current economic environment has compelled us to revaluate our spending and we’ve concluded that other areas in the marketing mix require additional investment.”
The No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Racing program began in 2005. Drivers Dave Blaney (2005), Clint Bowyer (2006-08) and Casey Mears (2009) have combined over 171 races for two pole positions, two victories, 16 top-five and 50 top-10 finishes. Bowyer earned spots in the Chase for the Sprint Cup in 2007 and 2008 and finished those seasons in third and fifth place, respectively.
“We understand the shift in their spending priorities during these tough economic times,” said Childress. “The No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Racing program will continue to provide that successful platform for the rest of the 2009 season. We have built many valuable relationships with the loyal Brown-Forman employees and their distributors during our partnership and look forward to maintaining those relationships in the future.”
There is now speculation that without a sponsor for next year, the No. 07 team with driver Casey Mears could be in very real danger of shutting down and forcing the Childress organization to compete with only 3 teams next season.
Childress added a fourth team this season, the No. 33, after they signed a sponsorship deal with General Mills, who left the Richard Petty organization after last year.
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