Danica Patrick Losing GoDaddy as Primary Sponsor for 2016 Season
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Danica Patrick is facing further uncertainty for the 2016 season after it was reported Wednesday that GoDaddy doesn't plan to remain her primary car sponsor.
Brant James of USA Today reports the Internet domain registrar and web hosting company is still interested in keeping Patrick as a representative through a personal contract. He passed along comments from GoDaddy Chief Marketing Officer Phil Bienert about the decision to end the sponsorship:
"We love Danica and all she does to empower and inspire people, especially women, which is why we are working to keep her in the GoDaddy family. We have the utmost respect for Stewart-Haas Racing, and they've been phenomenal partners. In fact, NASCAR has been a tremendous domestic platform to help us achieve an 81 percent aided brand awareness domestically, but at this stage, we need a range of marketing assets that reach a more globally diverse set of customers.
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Dustin Long of NASCAR Talk provided remarks from the driver of the No. 10 car:
"GoDaddy has been an incredible partner for a very long time, and our brands have really grown up together. It's pretty cool, from a marketing perspective, that we helped GoDaddy build such strong brand awareness here in the U.S. I'm excited to work with GoDaddy on a personal level moving forward but will miss having their bright green color on my racecar next year. At the same time, this is a new opportunity for a brand to pair with me and Stewart-Haas Racing and achieve the kind of growth we experienced with GoDaddy.
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Patrick also took to Twitter to talk about the decision:
The company's choice to divert some marketing resources elsewhere adds another layer of question marks for Patrick. Her contract with Stewart-Haas Racing is also slated to end after the current season.
While the USA Today report notes both Patrick and the team, which is co-owned by fellow Sprint Cup driver Tony Stewart, are hoping to get a new deal done, there's been no agreement yet.
The polarizing 33-year-old driver is on pace for her best season to date. She has two top-10 finishes in nine starts with an average finish of 18th. Over the previous three years, she had just four top-10 finishes combined in 82 starts.
That said, she still hasn't registered a top-five and has only led 20 laps at the Sprint Cup level. Improving her results the rest of the way, and perhaps earning her first victory, would go a long way in securing another high-profile primary sponsor for 2016 and beyond.
