MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Discount Tire/America's Tire is stepping up the scale of its sponsorship of Team Penske's NASCAR team, securing the primary sponsor position in 2018 for 10 races on Brad Keselowski's No. 2 Ford Fusion in NASCAR's top division, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
The expanded sponsorship deal is in addition to the dealership's role as the primary sponsor of the No. 22 Ford Mustang in the NASCAR XFINITY Series for multiple races in 2018 and beyond and as an associate sponsor the No. 2 Cup Series car for the series' other 28 races.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"Team Penske has enjoyed tremendous success with Discount Tire over the past eight seasons in the NASCAR XFINITY Series," said Team Penske principal Roger Penske, who noted that his team won its first NASCAR XFINITY championship in 2010 with the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based retailer as sponsor.
"Our partnership with Team Penske has been incredibly successful during an exciting time for our company," said Discount Tire Chairman Bruce Halle.
"Roger and his team have been wonderful to work with, and of course, all of the wins and championships are fantastic. As we continue to expand Discount Tire across the country, we look forward to celebrating more successes with Brad and all of Team Penske as together we pursue the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship."
Mr. Keselowski said, "It will be like coming full circle next year, as many of the current guys on the No. 2 Cup team were also with me during our 2010 XFINITY Championship run. It's great to see this partnership continuing into the Cup Series while still maintaining an important place in the XFINITY Series."
Discount Tire will be the primary sponsor at the season-opening and -closing races — Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in February and Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November — and at eight other, as yet undisclosed race weekends.
The No. 22 Discount Tire team earned three-consecutive NXS Owners' Championships from 2013-2015 with various Team Penske drivers behind the wheel. The team is also leading the NXS Owners' Point Standings with three races remaining in the 2017 season.
Since 2010, Discount Tire has expanded into 13 new states and added 175 new neighborhood retail tire stores. Team Penske drivers regularly visit Discount Tire stores to interact with customers and staff and participate in tire safety campaigns promoted by Discount Tire.
Earlier this year, Penkse and Discount Tire announced that Penske's IndyCar team also would carry Discount Tire associate sponsorship in 2017. It's not known if that partnership will continue.