Hearing Meijer Leaves Andretti For Penske in 2011

[SportsMarketing]

Meijer Grocery Stores will be an associate on all 3 Penske cars in 2011 and beyond, with a major deal on Will Power's car...This is VERY good news for the Captain, and for IndyCar as a whole!

[raskav]

http://indycar.com/news/show/55-izod...er-as-sponsor/

Penske Racing announced that Meijer will join Team Penske as a sponsor of its three-car IZOD IndyCar Series program, beginning with the 2011 season.
Coca-Cola will play an integrated role in this sponsorship as it is a key supplier to Meijer and a sponsor with Penske Racing. Meijer, which operates almost 200 retail stores in the Midwest, will be a major associate sponsor on the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car driven by Will Power next season.
“I’m excited to welcome Meijer to Team Penske and I look forward to representing their brand,” said Power, who produced series-high five wins and a series-record eight pole positions while finishing second in the IZOD IndyCar Series championship. “I’ve always enjoyed shopping at Meijer stores since I came over to the U.S. from Australia. Now, I’ll be doing my best to get Meijer to Victory Lane with Team Penske.”
Meijer also will be an associate sponsor with three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe.
“Meijer is thrilled to work with Team Penske, the most successful team in the history of Indy car racing,” said Hank Meijer, co-chairman and CEO of Meijer. “We hope to be a part of many race wins and championships with Will, Helio and Ryan and we know they and the Penske team will be great ambassadors for Meijer and all of our associates.”
Both Meijer, which opened its first store in 1934, and the Penske Corporation are based in Michigan. Under a multi-year agreement, both organizations will work together for future success on the racetrack and on the retail floor.
“Meijer is a terrific company and we are proud to represent such a premiere organization,” team owner Roger Penske said. “We are excited to develop this new relationship and we believe Meijer will be a key partner for Team Penske, beginning in 2011.”

It sounds like Meijer will be used for Midwest races and Coca-Cola for the locations without Meijer presence.

[cheeseczar]

Huh.

The Captain and Coke.

[midtown]

Huh.

The Captain and Coke.

Rimshot. He'll be here all week folks.

[FDX26]

Well, this sucks for Andretti Autosport. Hopefully they have a replacement sponsor.

[goldie19]

Well, this sucks for Andretti Autosport. Hopefully they have a replacement sponsor.

Sponsors want results, ROI.....7/11, Meijer, Whatever Movie Studio was all over Marco a few years ago....

Mikey needs to decide if he wants to continue wasting money from other sponsors to prop up Marco, or if he want's to take good money and get good drivers to win races.

At this point, I can't tell what his goals are....

[seeutrackside]

Wasn't Meijer there specifically for Danica originally? Hmmmm...

[Dave Long]

We already knew Meijer was out at Andretti didn't we? This just means they're staying in IndyCar, which is a good thing.

[No_Fenders]

Sponsors want results, ROI.....7/11, Meijer, Whatever Movie Studio was all over Marco a few years ago....

Mikey needs to decide if he wants to continue wasting money from other sponsors to prop up Marco, or if he want's to take good money and get good drivers to win races.

At this point, I can't tell what his goals are....

Marco has the talent. If they stopped shuffling the equipment and manpower around for Kanaan and Danica he would be better off.

What they SHOULD have been doing is spreading the resources across 2 cars instead of 3 and 4. Keep a veteran driver as a coach/consultant/test driver.

[I500]

There is something wrong with Andretti's team. This is yet another big sponsor lost.

[debris on the track]

Well, this sucks for Andretti Autosport. Hopefully they have a replacement sponsor.

seems like i remember andretti doing this same thing a few years back to another team. was it rhr when he was affiliated with izod or another sponsor?

[No_Fenders]

There is something wrong with Andretti's team. This is yet another big sponsor lost.

It makes you wonder if Green was locked into receiving part of the money still or something. Maybe not all the money was actually staying with the team and the sponsors are pissed?

[Indy500fanatic]

There is something wrong with Andretti's team. This is yet another big sponsor lost.

no direction is the problem.
Losing Kanaan was huge blow for the team...a former champ and Iowa winner in '10 and you cant find a sponsor for him??
The Son, yea has talent but was simply brought along too fast and its shown.
Dani doesnt have nearly the sponsor pull she did a few years ago.
RHR,,,nuff said.
So they now got Dani, RHR, Sonny and the Rook for '11...
Helluva far cry from TK, Dario Danny Boy and Herta.
Ive called AA a rudderless ship..its seems it might be a sinking ship with the sponsors hitting the lifeboats.
ymmv

[goldie19]

Marco has the talent. If they stopped shuffling the equipment and manpower around for Kanaan and Danica he would be better off.

What they SHOULD have been doing is spreading the resources across 2 cars instead of 3 and 4. Keep a veteran driver as a coach/consultant/test driver.

I'd agree they would be better with 2 drivers. But if they go that route, it's RHR for twisties and Danica for ovals and sponsors. Marco Andretti is about as relevant a name in American sports as Casey Mears, AJ Foyt 4, Mini Al Unser, Arie Luyendyk Jr, etc....being the son of a former champ is useless now in just about every sport....

[Cygni]

Meijer Grocery Stores will be an associate on all 3 Penske cars in 2011 and beyond, with a major deal on Will Power's car...This is VERY good news for the Captain, and for IndyCar as a whole!

Eh, that parts debatable.