Advance Auto Parts' involvement in NASCAR has seen all the excitement, drama, and successes you'd expect from this fast-paced world of racing. During our time as an Official Partner, we ran a variety of campaigns and challenges designed to engage fans, celebrate grassroots racing, and work to embrace diversity in the sport, too. As we enter a new year, we look forward to the excitement that this dynamic partnership will continue to bring!
To celebrate our time in the sport, let's take a look back at our top six NASCAR moments.
Clash at The Coliseum
This was the first year the NASCAR season kicked off at the L.A. Coliseum. We were proud to be part of the fun and delighted to see how the fans came together to celebrate the start of the racing season.
Source | Advance Auto Parts
This level of fan participation is why NASCAR is so special to many people (us included!).
Advance My Track
Grassroots motorsport is the backbone of auto racing. The Advance My Track Challenge allowed NASCAR-sanctioned tracks to nominate themselves for a unique award. Participation from tracks and fans alike highlighted just how vital the Home Tracks are to stock car racing.
The winning NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series tracks had a national platform to share their stories and talk about why community attendance is crucial to the longevity and enjoyment of the sport. The winning tracks also received a monetary prize to help them continue bringing motorsports, giving opportunities to future racing stars, and engaging with local fans.
The prizes included:
- Grand Prize ($50,000): Jennerstown Speedway Complex
- Second Place ($15,000): Alaska Raceway Park
- Third Place ($10,000): Adams County Speedway
Source | 2022 BPH Photography
With more than 139,000 users voting for their top Home Track on social media, there's no denying how important short-track racing is to motorsport.
Ryan Blaney Paint Outs
Source | Advance Auto Parts
Team Penske's Ryan Blaney appeared in Advance Auto Parts paint outs on four tracks this year. You may have seen his Advance Auto Parts car at Martinsville, Darlington, Nashville, and Daytona.
Ed Vance at Daytona
In July, we introduced Ed Vance, a bilingual spokescharacter for our Advance Auto Parts brand. Ed is a super fan and talks about Advance Auto Parts on all his social channels. In August, Ed had the opportunity to head to Daytona, Florida, to watch Ryan Blaney compete in our paint scheme and to his surprise, fans recognized him!
Source | Advance Auto Parts
This was a really fun moment for the Advance Team as well as for Ed and the fans. If you'd like to follow Ed and see what races he'll be at in 2023, you can follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok: @EdVance4Advance.
Drive for Diversity Combine
The Advance Auto Parts Drive for Diversity Combine saw drivers ages 13-19 competing for a place on the Drive for Diversity Development program. The entrants competed across different areas for a chance to build a career within NASCAR. At this event, more women and people from ethnically diverse backgrounds had the opportunity to make their mark on top-tier motorsport.
Source | Advance Auto Parts
Brandon Thompson, NASCAR's vice president of diversity and inclusion, said in an official statement: “We talk about building and widening the pipeline, and that's exactly what this is about. That starts at the grassroots level, regardless of what color you are or whether you are male or female."
“The NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series is a feeder system into the rest of the sport, so it's vital we fill that pipeline with talent, number one, but diverse talent is a double win for us."
We share NASCAR's commitment to diversity, which is why we're so proud to be part of the sport's long-running development program.
Advance Auto Parts Wins NASCAR Award
At the recent NASCAR Industry Awards Celebration, we were honored with the 2022 Marketing Achievement Award. The award is meaningful to us and demonstrates the work we've put into the sport over the past few years.
We love seeing how our activity in NASCAR engages with our customers and helps us reach new people who share our enthusiasm for cars and motorsports. It's also a chance for us to support grassroots racing, work to increase diversity and inclusion, and offer new opportunities to young people in the sport.
We're very proud to be part of NASCAR and the energy on and off the track. These six moments are just a handful of the fantastic experiences we've had in 2022 and we can't wait to help wave the checkered flag in 2023!
Where have you seen Advance Auto Parts at NASCAR races? Let us know in the comments
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About the Author(s)
Jess is a motorsport entrepreneur and automotive journalist who has road-tripped around the world in everything from roaring V8s to electric cars. Running a motorsport business allows her access to all levels of racing and she's the author of "The Sponsorship Bible" Get Paid to Race. Find out more at jessshanahan.com
