By Caleb Whisler, Staff Writer
With Furniture Row Racing returning to one-car for the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, the organization announced on Sunday before the Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway that they would have sponsorship for the entire season.
Bass Pro Shops, 5-Hour Energy, and Auto-Owners Insurance will sponsor the No. 78 Toyota Camry throughout the season. Bass Pro Shops and 5-Hour Energy will be on the car for 30-races as co-primary sponsors. Bass Pro Shops will sponsor 16 select races as the dominant brand with 5-Hour Energy on the side of the car. For 14 races, 5-Hour Energy will be o the good for 14 select races on the hood with Bass Pro Shops on the side. With 30 races under the belt with 5-Hour Energy and Bass Pro Shops, Auto-Owners Insurance will be the primary sponsor for six races. There will also be a pending announcement regarding the final two Cup races of 2018.
With 5-Hour Energy and Bass Pro Shops being co-primary sponsors, they have formed a business to business relationship, which includes in-store sales and marketing rights.
“I am looking forward to continuing my associations with Bass Pro Shops and my good friend Johnny Morris and building a bigger and stronger relationship with 5-hour Energy,” said Martin Truex, Jr. “ The sponsorship package is a neat concept and it will be out responsibility to make sure we deliver both on and off the track for these highly-visible and successful companies.”
After sponsoring the No. 78 car out of his own pocket for numerous years. Barney Visser, team owner of Furniture Row, is excited about this partnership.
“This type of co-primary sponsorship has been made a reality only because of the incredible cooperation between Johnny Morris and his Bass Pro team, along with Rise’ Meguiar and her 5-Hour Energy team, said Visser. “It took number of conversations and a spirit of partnership to make this happen and we thank Bass Pro Shops and 5-Hour Energy for being open-minded to this concept. Bass Pro and 5-Hour Energy are wining companies and we will do everything we can on the racetrack to provide them not only with a winning team but represent them in the highest standard. We also want to give a special thank you to Auto-Owner’s Insurance for its cooperation in moving markets around to enable this overall partnership with Bass Pro Shops and 5-Hour Energy to work.”
The color and primary design of Truex’s car will coincide with whatever company is dominant on the hood. The official name of the car will be also be determined on what the dominant sponsor is for the weekend.