Coca-Cola to sponsor IRL

Good news. Looks like a merged series is starting to payoff.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/66273

Its going to payoff when they get the new cars for 2009/2010 season. This is a minor step for the series.

some stability
i didn't read the article but how long is the sponsor ship- and this level of sponsoring can go very very very far and global
the Indy 500 might actually be bigger than all races again.+

Good news! it's a step in the right direction.

That's a huge sponsorship deal, Coca-Cola is the 5th richest company in the Food & Drink sector worldwide... hopefully the deal can help to "globalise" IRL.

The deal is multi year.

If it can be used to maximise publicity for the series and build an identity across the broader and more youthful fan base it may have huge implications for the long term future of the series..... so we live in hope....

Is this the deal referenced on Wind Tunnel? I got the impression that the Wind Tunnel referenced sponsor would be a title sponsor. Perhaps I was wrong...

Chris

The Coca-Cola IndyCar World Series...sounds nice.

Wonder if that means the winner of the 500 will be drinking a Coke instead of milk?

Coca Cola sponsors the NASCAR 600, which is on the same day as the Indy 500, so I wonder if we will see some dates change in the near future so that those two races will not overlap.

That is great to hear. A global company promoting the IRL. Positive news all around!

I think a (big) series sponsor thru 3 seasons is a very good sign!
strangely some jinxers round here haven't commented yet ;)

great news top line company that i don't think many around the world havn't heard of.

Yes it will help the series be more comfortable wuth $$ numbers, and, probably, higher purses to attract further entries.

@ ThePenguin: I doubt it. Having the "World" 600 and Indianapolis 500 on the same weekend means too much in the history of U.S. motorsport. Those two events, combined with the Monday sports car race at Lime Rock, currently being the Grand-Am GT's, makes a huge weekend in U.S. motorsport that I hope never changes - and I doubt will change for a long time.

No title sponsorship then?

Chris

Imagine that, some Actual Good News. It's been a while since the last time that happened in AOWR.;)

Yes, very promising indeed. If we get to see a few 'we sponsor Indycar' type promos on the billions of cans and bottles that are sold each year it will be a very good thing in rebuilding the 'brand' to a previously tired audience.

Wow. That is quite a coup for the series. Coca-Cola is a globally recognised brand...

Just to make sure that everyone understands this deal.

Coca-Cola has become one of the various "Official Sponsors" of the IndyCar Series...like the "Official Soft Drink of...."

This is not a Title Sponsorship, which would be "The Coca-Cola IndyCar Series"

The deal (which hasn't been announced yet, btw) talked about on Wind Tunnel the other night refers to the fact that the IRL received a signed "Letter of Intent" from DirectTV to become the "Presneting Sponsor" for the sieries...which is a bigger $$$ commitment and a bigger deal...The IndyCar Series presented by DirectTV HD"

Hope that explanation clarifies this for everyone