NASCAR's Indy Race Still In Good Hands Without Sponsor

((HT: IndyStar/Ballard))

The NASCAR race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will have a new name next year. Or, more likely, an old one.

Allstate announced Monday it would not renew its title sponsorship of the race, which ran for the fifth time Sunday as the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

Speedway spokesman Ron Green said a replacement won’t be sought and the race will revert to its original name as the Brickyard 400.

“We weren’t actively or aggressively looking for a title sponsor when we landed Allstate,” Green said. “They were looking to do something and it just made sense at the time. If someone were to come along again, certainly we would listen, but this event does not need a sponsor to be financially successful.”

Terms of the IMS-Allstate deal never were made public, but track president Joie Chitwood said at the time it was announced it was on the “high end” of race sponsorships, which would put the number well into seven figures annually.

Allstate refused to pay an advertising premium required by ABC/ESPN and so its name was not used during Sunday’s telecast. The network struck a separate naming rights deal with a restaurant chain and billed the race as the “Brickyard 400 presented by Golden Corral.”

Attendance Sunday was estimated at 180,000, off about 20 percent from last year, but in a statement Allstate officials said their decision wasn’t based on that.

“When we looked at all of our business results,” said Pam Hollander, Allstate’s director of sponsorships and promotions, “they were just stronger in other properties.”