K&N Filters extends sponsorship through 2021

And with good reason. According to K&N Engineering CEO Tom McGann, “This is probably the best return on investment we have in sports marketing, bar none.”

Though the announcement was made on K&N’s “home turf,” with the company based in nearby Riverside, the relationship with NASCAR is truly national in scope, encompassing both the K&N Pro Series East and K&N Pro Series West.

As part of the extension deal, K&N has acquired the designation as the “Official Automotive Filters of NASCAR.”

“For K&N, where we truly race on Saturday and sell on Monday, a high-performance company working in Riverside here and working with NASCAR has provided us the opportunity to co-market with some of our largest customers,” McGann said.

“One of our core values is the future of performance and the future of the sport. Working with this series fits right with our core values. … It’s all in line very, very well with our goals as a company and our vision as a company, along with the vision of NASCAR.”

The extension of the K&N agreement is another in a series of milestone deals that extend beyond the turn of the next decade. NASCAR has reached a 10-year agreement with XFINITY for entitlement sponsorship of its national series, as well as 10-year broadcast agreements with FOX and NBC and international broadcast rights partner IMG.

NASCAR also has announced a seven-year extension of its entitlement agreement with Camping World, sponsor of the national Truck Series.

“Any time that you can extend what is already a long-term relationship, it’s a good signal that things are working in that relationship,” said Jim Cassidy, NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations, of the K&N deal. “K&N has been a significant partner at a really significant time in the K&N Series.

“Our focus is really honed in on the development of drivers and the building of the brand of those drivers at an earlier point in their careers. The K&N Pro Series offers the opportunity to do that.”

Notable “graduates” of the K&N Pro Series include reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick, 2015 Daytona 500 winner Joey Logano and such rising stars as Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott and Darrell Wallace Jr.

“It is such a great stepping stone as a racer growing up,” said Joey Logano, 2015 Daytona 500 winner and 2007 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champion. “Being able to drive a big stock car on race tracks that you’re going to be racing the rest of your career on is a great thing for sure. … That’s what our sport always needs — to stay true to how we can grow people.”

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