When Sponsorships Become Partnerships
One of the greatest periods in motorsports is the final weekend in May. The United States celebrates Memorial Day and three of the world’s largest series all compete throughout the weekend across Monaco (F1), Indianapolis (INDYCAR) and Charlotte (NASCAR). Corresponding with all of the racing action are generally a host of announcements from organizations looking to fully leverage the weekend’s platform.
In 2022, we announced exciting news for our clients that had been in the works for some time. Shell announced that they will become the official fuel supplier of INDYCAR, and will also produce a 100% renewable race fuel starting in 2023 – the first for any U.S. motorsport series. This was covered by Racer, SBJ, Motorsport.com, ESPN, NBC Sports...and quite a few others.
The fuel was featured at one of the most demanding races in the world at the Indy 500 this year. Leading into race weekend, the three engineers from Shell/Pennzoil who developed the new fuel won The Louis Schwitzer Award in a ceremony honoring the most impressive innovations debuted at the Speedway.
It has been a really exciting project for us to develop 100% renewable based fuel for the NTT INDYCAR Series. So our fuel composition includes a significant portion of second-generation ethanol derived from waste biomass, such as sugar cane maize. The rest of the composition consists of renewable components derived from food waste. So this gives us a low-carbon fuel that’s 100-percent renewable, enabling at least 60-percent greenhouse gas reduction compared to fossil fuel-based gasoline.
Now, second-generation ethanol, also referred to as cellulosic ethanol, is obtained from waste feedstocks, and therefore does not compete with the food chain. With respect to the performance of our renewable fuel, it has been tested and approved by both engine manufacturers in the series, Chevrolet and Honda, and has met the demanding needs of INDYCAR engines with high performance and durability.
- Selda Gunsel, VP of Technology at Shell
Sport Dimensions is proud to support Shell through this massive expansion of innovation and activation in INDYCAR. After coordinating the announcement last year, we are ready to support our partners onsite this weekend with myriad activities and brand integrations.
As a motorsports marketing agency, we continue to work behind the scenes on projects that turn what looks to be a standard sponsorship to wide-reaching B2B technical partnerships.