Nascar agrees short-term Tide sponsorship deal for Phoenix finale

Nascar has agreed a short-term sponsorship deal with Tide ahead of this weekend’s season finale at Phoenix Raceway.

Confirmed:

• Laundry detergent brand will sponsor pit road at Phoenix
• Tide will also act as the primary paint scheme for Michael McDowell’s Spire Motorsports car
• The deal will also include media integrations through the NBC broadcast, according to Sports Business Journal (SBJ)

Context:

Procter and Gamble-owned Tide has a storied history with Nascar having been involved in the sport since the 1980s. This started with a tie-up in 1987 with Darrell Waltrip, a collaboration that propelled itself into Nascar folklore when Waltrip won the 1989 Daytona 500.

When Waltrip left Hendrick Motorsports in 1991, Tide decided to stay with the team, which saw the brand associated with Ricky Rudd. This partnership was so successful that Tide decided to follow Rudd when he started his own team in 1994 before the deal reached a natural conclusion in 1999.

A less successful partnership with PPI Motorsports then followed between 2000 and 2006 before Tide departed Nascar altogether. The brand returned in a more scaled back way in 2016 with various primary paint schemes over the ensuing seasons, last being seen on Justin Haley’s car at the Bristol Dirt Race in 2023.

Tide’s return to Nascar is a much-needed commercial boost for the series and will serve as a nostalgic addition to the drama of the championship decider. It also underlines the importance of the season finale for driving sponsorship revenue at a time when the future of the playoffs – or at least the current format – is in serious doubt. 

Coming next:

The 2025 Nascar Cup Series comes to a conclusion this weekend at Phoenix Raceway from 31st October to 2nd November. This will also be the last championship race hosted at Phoenix for the foreseeable future as Homestead-Miami will return as the host of the season finale from next season.

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• Nascar goes to Mexico: Ben Kennedy on the making of the landmark Cup Series event