SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT
F
NASCAR Involvement Hits Home for
or much of the past two decades,
State Water Heaters has been involved in NASCAR as a primary and associate sponsor for a few different drivers and teams. Along the way, the Ashland, Tennessee-based company has gone to Victory Lane with multiple drivers, participated in all three major NASCAR series and celebrated wins at the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series levels. Below are five key time periods in State Water Heaters’ lengthy NASCAR run – as highlighted by the company’s longtime director of marketing, Jeff Storie.
State Water Heaters
2006
STATE WATER HEATERS ENTERED THE SPORT AS A PRIMARY
sponsor for driver Kevin Lepage in the Cup Series, serving in that role for five events. The company debuted as Lepage’s primary sponsor at Martinsville, striking an entry level deal that created a path for a long involvement in the sport. Lepage failed to qualify for the race, however, so it wasn’t until Talladega a few weeks later that a State Water Heaters-sponsored car took the green flag.
“Based on the reaction from our customers, we said, ‘You know what? NASCAR
hits home really well with those who matter to us. Not only with our State Water Heaters wholesalers and contractors, but there’s also a lot of consumers that watch in person and on TV, so gaining brand exposure from all of those folks is great. Kind of like the cake and icing together in terms of our wholesalers and contractors – and also consumers,’” Storie recalled.
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2007
2006
BY JARED TURNER
2007-2008
STATE WATER HEATERS MOVED ITS PRIMARY
sponsorship to Morgan-McClure Motorsports, a historic Cup Series team, and began a relationship with driver Ward Burton that lasts until this day. When the season ended, the team disbanded so State Water Heaters took its funding to Haas CNC Racing where it enjoyed a solid 2008 as a primary sponsor for driver Scott Riggs. Although State Water Heaters moved on at season’s
end, the Haas CNC and State pairing laid a foundation for partnering with the organization in the future after Cup Series champion Tony Stewart became a co-owner along with businessman Gene Haas and the organization rebranded itself as Stewart-Haas Racing.
