Todd Kluever drove the 3M-sponsored car in the 2006 Busch Series. Credit: Autostock

3M to sponsor No. 16 cars, Cup race at MIS

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- 3M, a name long associated with innovative products for consumers and professionals, is shifting its NASCAR sponsorship into high gear for the 2007 season.

3M's aggressive 2007 NASCAR sponsorship program includes the title sponsorship of the 3M Performance 400 Nextel Cup Series event scheduled for Aug. 19 at Michigan International Speedway and sponsorship of the Roush Racing No.16 3M Ford Fusion in the Nextel Cup and Busch series.

3M Performance 400 race attendees will have the opportunity to visit the 3M Car Care Auto Fair, Aug. 17-19, where more than 150 classic cars will be on display. Race fans can mingle with rebuilders, collectors and car-care professionals to learn and share car-care tips. The free festival will take place in the AAA Motorsports Fan Plaza at MIS.

"We're excited to begin the 2007 NASCAR racing season as a proud team, race and event sponsor," said Bob MacDonald, 3M senior vice president, marketing. "In 2006, the 3M Performance 400 and 3M Car Care Auto Fair were fantastic events for race fans and car enthusiasts, and we plan to make them both bigger, better and more exciting in 2007."

3M will activate all of its sponsorships through comprehensive marketing programs on several levels throughout the year, including customer hospitality, product promotions and at-track marketing.

3M will serve as the primary sponsor of the Busch Series No. 16 3M Ford Fusion, co-driven by Greg Biffle and Todd Kluever. Biffle will compete in 19 races, while Kluever will take the wheel in 16 events beginning with the season-opener in Daytona on Feb. 17.

Biffle will also drive seven events in the No.16 3M Ford Fusion in the Nextel Cup Series.

"Officially Licensed Products of NASCAR"

3M is proud to have many of its products designated as "Officially Licensed Products of NASCAR." These span the range from hearing protection to automotive refinishing products, adhesive tapes and 14 additional product categories.

Prize money and decal sponsorship

In 2007, 3M will also continue its longstanding support of racing through sponsorship of the Nextel Cup Series, the Busch Series and the NASCAR Whelen All American Series via the NASCAR Prize Money and Decal Sponsorship Program.

For many years, NASCAR fans have seen the very visible 3M logo on the front quarter-panel of cars racing in the Nextel Cup Series and the Busch Series. The decal sponsorship program also extends to regional racing as part of the Whelen All American series.

Competitors placing these decals on their cars become eligible for prize money that 3M and other contingency sponsors contribute to each race purse.

3M in NASCAR

3M's extensive sponsorship and activation programs for 2007 mark another step in its motorsports history, which dates back to the beginning of the sport and the company's nine-decade-long association with the automobile industry. 3M's first product was sandpaper, which it began supplying to automakers in 1916.

Many NASCAR race teams have used 3M products for years, because 3M creates solutions for speed needed by motorsports professionals. 3M products are used for streamlining car construction, improving driver safety, reducing in-race service time and protecting car finishes.

These products range from protection and appearance products, such as Scotchgard Paint Protection Film, that keeps rocks and track debris from blasting those brilliant paint schemes off the racecars, to high-tech Nextel brand Thermal Blankets from 3M, made of woven ceramic fibers and used to solve the problem of high heat in the driver's compartment.