NASCAR is a sport like no other given the role played by companies associated with the sport through sponsorship. As the primary sponsor for Dale Jarrett and Michael Waltrip Racing's #44 Toyota team, UPS enjoys the brand recognition that goes with being a sponsor in the Nextel Cup Series. While there is value from brand recognition there is just as much value from business partnerships that can be leveraged as a result of being involved in the sport.
One such business partnership developed between The UPS Store™ and AAA with the announcement at Michigan International Speedway (MIS) regarding AAA's Show Your Card & Save® program. Through the partnership AAA members can save on services and products at The UPS Store locations across the country. By "showing their AAA card" visitors to The UPS Store can save up to 15 percent off of the full retail price of eligible products and services, while saving five percent on shipping costs.
"We are pleased to have the opportunity to offer AAA members discounts on a variety of products and services," said Becca Andrews, public relations supervisor for The UPS Store. "This is the first time we have offered a program on this scale through our network of nearly 4,300 The UPS Store locations. Those products and services including shipping, packaging services and materials, mail box services, fax and document services among others. We are really looking forward to welcoming AAA members through this association."
"This is just another example of the opportunities that sponsors like UPS find in this sport," Jarrett said during the announcement. "UPS still does a lot of things that shows what their marketing activities do for this NASCAR sponsorship as a whole. What we do on the race track is a supplement to what they do with this sponsorship program which is already very successful when you look at the business partnerships and ventures that are a result of their association with NASCAR."
In addition to the announcement, AAA and The UPS Store paid special recognition to Jarrett given his history at Michigan during the August race weekend. MIS is the site of Jarrett's first career NASCAR Cup Series win, having picked up the victory at the track on August 18, 1991. The 3M Performance 400 race weekend marked the 16th anniversary of that win so AAA and The UPS Store took the opportunity to commemorate that occasion with a plaque that AAA driver David Ragan presented to Jarrett during the announcement.
"What a great day," Jarrett said of the historic day. "I could probably talk for quite a while on it. We had run well all day but at the end of the race we had a late caution and Lenny and Ed Wood made the call to take fuel only when we all made pit stops. Davey Allison had pretty much had everybody covered all day long. I got fuel only, along with a couple other teams. We were in the lead for the restart with 10 laps to go. It didn't take Davey a long time to get caught up with us and when he did I thought it was over.
But we spent the last two laps racing side-by-side and it was one of the most exciting moments of my life to be able to come away with the win. It was a thrill to win for the Wood Brothers and to get my first victory here, at my favorite race track."
