The Weather Company, in collaboration with Flagship Solutions, to provide critical information to optimize weather-related decisions for NASCAR
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (October 6, 2017) – NASCAR and The Weather Company, an IBM Business (NYSE: IBM), announced today a multi-year agreement that will optimize the weather-related decision process for NASCAR as itincorporates hyper-local weather data and forecasts into their races to improve race-day operations and fan engagement. As part of the agreement, The Weather Company, via The Weather Channel brand, becomes the Official Weather Partner of NASCAR.
In collaboration with Flagship Solutions Group, The Weather Company will provide critical weather information to NASCAR through an advanced weather insights dashboard developed by Flagship that will be integrated into NASCAR’s racing operations and decision support system. Additionally, The Weather Channel will work with NASCAR on educational content, which will present fans with information on things like how weather impacts vehicle performance.
“There is an enormous amount of logistics and planning needed to support a NASCAR race, but the one thing we do not have control over is weather,” said Elton Sawyer, NASCAR vice president, officiating and technical inspection. “This partnership with The Weather Company and Flagship Solutions Group will provide NASCAR access to critical information that can improve race operations and help minimize delays, while improving the race day experience for millions of our loyal fans.”
Through this partnership, NASCAR will now have access to The Weather Company’s world-renowned weather data, as well as direct input from an onsite personal weather station, at each race. The Weather Company produces themost accurate forecast for more than 2 billion locations around the world every 15 minutes. NASCAR will incorporate hyper-local weather data and forecasts into their races to improve race-day operations and fan engagement.
“Every business needs a weather strategy – and this is especially true for a partner like NASCAR where every race has the potential to be impacted by weather,” said Bill Dow, head of media and entertainment for The Weather Company. “Having access to the most accurate, precise, and hyperlocal weather information positions NASCAR to make more informed and timely, critical business decisions that impact race day operations, as well as improve planning for future events that will help drive their success.”
The Weather Track, a real-time, weather insights dashboard, developed on the IBM Cloud and leveraging Flagship Solutions’ trademarked Infralytics™ methodology, will provide critical information including rain start and stop times, wind speed, lightning proximity, tornado/flash flood warnings, and more to help organizers optimize each event. Longer term, NASCAR plans to use weather forecasting and analytics to help improve planning.
About NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States. NASCAR consists of three national series (Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR XFINITY Series™, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™), four regional series, one local grassroots series and three international series. The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. Based in Daytona Beach, Fla., with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).
The Weather Company, an IBM Business
The Weather Company helps people make informed decisions and take action in the face of weather. The company offers the most accurate forecasts globally with personalized and actionable weather data and insights to millions of consumers, as well as thousands of marketers and businesses via Weather’s API, its business solutions division (business.weather.com), and its own digital products from The Weather Channel (weather.com) and Weather Underground (wunderground.com).
The company delivers around 25 billion forecasts daily. Its products include the world’s most downloaded weather app, a network of 250,000 personal weather stations, a top-20 U.S. website, one of the world’s largest IoT data platforms, and industry-leading business solutions. Weather Means Business™. The world’s biggest brands in aviation, energy, insurance, media and government rely on The Weather Company for data, technology platforms and services to help improve decision-making and respond to weather’s impact on business. For more, visit theweathercompany.com.
About Flagship Solutions Group
Flagship Solutions Group provides IBM solutions, managed services and cloud solutions worldwide. These include cutting-edge hardware and software products, data center strategic planning and hybrid cloud implementations based on a wide range of assessments that look at virtualization, server consolidation, security, and infrastructure-focused integration. With over 30 years in the industry, Flagship’s expert staff take the time to understand and assess each customer’s specific needs and requirements. They realize that for many organizations, the future depends on technology. Flagship delivers real results through solutions that keep technology secure, efficient and working at optimal performance. To learn more or to find a solution that best fits your needs, contact Flagship Solutions Group at sales@flagshipsg.com or call (561) 208-FYI1 (3941).
