DeWalt reunites with Kenseth; Stanley jumps on for Edwards’ No. 19
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HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — On those few occasions when Matt Kenseth looks back through photos from earlier in his career, “most of them have a DeWalt car behind them,” the Joe Gibbs Racing driver said Wednesday at the team’s compound.
“So it’s pretty cool that they came back to be with us.”
JGR officials announced a six-race primary sponsorship deal with DeWalt Power Tools for Kenseth’s No. 20 Toyota beginning in 2015. In addition, Stanley will provide primary sponsorship for the No. 19 of Carl Edwards, who will join the JGR group next season, for 12 events.
Stanley and DeWalt are two of the brands under the Stanley Black & Decker umbrella.
DeWalt sponsored Kenseth, the 2003 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and one of this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers, for a decade at Roush Fenway Racing.
“They were really my first major partner … as far as my engagement level and my involvement with them, getting to know everyone and spending time in their corporate offices and promoting the brand; it was the most I’ve ever done with anybody,” Kenseth, 42, said. “We had the full-time Nationwide deal in ’99; I remember the first meeting to put that deal together, and then moving up to (Sprint) Cup with them.
“Really without them, we wouldn’t have moved up to Cup. It had to be all put together ahead of time. We had to have a sponsor before we could have the team, and seeing this again really brings back a lot of memories.”
The six-race package rounds out Kenseth’s sponsorship program for next season, with Dollar General providing funding for the remaining races.
Arris Group, Inc., previously announced a 17-race sponsorship with Edwards and the No. 19 team for ’15. JGR President J.D. Gibbs said the organization expects to announce funding for the remaining nine races (including non-points events) soon.
Edwards, currently at Roush Fenway Racing, will move to JGR next season, joining Kenseth, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin.
DeWalt has been a team sponsor in NASCAR since 1993 when the company backed driver Bobby Dotter in the Nationwide Series. After a two-year stay, the company aligned with Hermie Sadler from 1995-98 before joining Kenseth in 1999.
Since 2010, the company has been associated with Richard Petty Motorsports and drivers Elliott Sadler (2010) and Marcos Ambrose (2011-14).
“I think it’s well-documented what Matt has done on the track from a performance perspective,” said Jon Howland, marketing director for Dewalt. “But some of my more vivid memories are what he has done for our company, our employees, our brand, our distributors, the guys that sell our product and the guys that use our product.”
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