Will Mark Company’s 21st Straight Season of NASCAR Nationwide Team Support
Continuing to experience strong support of its NASCAR Nationwide Series race team sponsorship program, the Northeastern Supply Company will add yet another season to its string of years in which it has offered such support.
By renewing its associate position with the JR Motorsports organization and driver Regan Smith for a second straight season in 2014, Northeastern Supply will have now supported a full-time Nationwide Series team for 21 consecutive seasons when the green flag falls on season opener in February in Daytona Beach, FL.
“There was a time when we first started sponsoring NASCAR race teams that we believed that it would be a short-term thing,” said Northeastern Supply President/CEO Steve Cook.
“But instead of the program losing appeal, it just continued to grow to the point that we are now entertaining nearly 500 customers during each NASCAR race weekend at the company’s designated “home track”, Dover International Speedway. Interest from our customers, vendors and employees is at an all-time high and having high-caliber drivers like Regan Smith, and to be affiliated with such a top racing organization as JR Motorsports, only enhances that appeal,” Cook added.
Smith is coming off his first, full-time season in JR Motorsports’ #7 Chevrolet Camaro, one in which he won more races (2) than any other Nationwide Series regular, scored eight top five and 19 top ten finishes, and finished a solid third in championship driver points behind champion Austin Dillon and runner-up Sam Hornish, Jr. Sponsoring a race car and race team that competes for victories every race, and having his customers taking note and following the competition proves that the sponsorship is working.
“I have customers calling me regularly just to talk about racing and how our drivers and race cars are doing, so you know we have established their interest. We post-race reports from every weekend’s race on our website that customers read and so they keep up with our driver and team. We then create some unique incentives that put customers on pit road before a race, having them serve as honorary pit crew members, meeting the driver and getting autographs and photos taken, and just seeing how our race team members support our program by attending hospitality events and participating with the customers in things like corn hole games. It really creates the excitement,” Cook explained.
“We have obviously created a marketing and promotional program that carries our sponsorship to a whole new level, and as long as our customers want to continue coming to the races, we’ll continue sponsoring race cars,” he added.
Since its first year of full-season Nationwide Series team sponsorship in 1993, Northeastern Supply has visited Victory Lane on several occasions to highlight its many years of involvement. Taking the checkered flag first in race cars on which the Northeastern Supply logo has been carried have been such top Nationwide Series drivers as the Series’ all-time winningest drivers in Kyle Busch, the late Jason Leffler, Justin Allgaier and long-time Series regular and consecutive NNS race start record holder Jason Keller.
“Having our race car win at Dover and win a Series championship is what we are hoping for now. It would be the “icing on the cake” for us,” Cook ended. Having hundreds of customers, vendors and the company’s employees supporting these goals show that the Northeastern Supply NASCAR program is alive and well.
About Northeastern Supply
The Northeastern Supply Company is a privately-owned and leading regional distributor of plumbing, heating, air conditioning, HVAC, water systems and hardware products in five states (Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania) and the District of Columbia. The company features 31 sales branches, two Design Showcase locations and a central distribution warehouse in Aberdeen, MD. The company has been using the power and popularity of NASCAR stock car racing sponsorship for the last 20 years to reinforce existing business relationships and nurture new ones. The program is one of several marketing and promotional activities, plus acquisitions, that have helped to increase Northeastern Supply’s business from a 5-branch, 2-state model in 1993 to its current composition.
About JR Motorsports
Based in Mooresville, NC, JR Motorsports is the management company and racing operation for Dale Earnhardt, Jr., NASCAR’s 10-time Most Popular Driver and winner of more than 40 NASCAR-sanctioned races. JR Motorsports competes in multiple racing divisions, including the NASCAR Nationwide Series in which it has earned 12 victories since its inception in 2007. In 2012, the JRM late model program won the track title at Motor Mile Speedway with driver Josh Berry, giving the company its first championship. To learn more about the organization, its drivers and its sponsorship opportunities, visit www.jrmracing.com
