Axalta, Hendrick Motorsports extend partnership through 2022

Axalta and Hendrick Motorsports have extended their long-standing partnership with a four-year contract extension through 2022, the team announced Friday. The leading global coatings company will serve as a 25-race primary sponsor from 2018-2022. Axalta will sponsor Alex Bowman for 15 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races in 2018 and 12 races in 2019, and William Byron for 10 races in 2018 and 13 races in 2019. The 2020-2022 schedules will be announced at a future date. RELATED: Our favorite Axalta paint schemes Axalta and Hendrick Motorsports began their partnership in 1992 with rookie driver Jeff Gordon, who won four championships with the sponsor driving the iconic rainbow-colored No. 24 Chevrolet. Axalta extended its partnership to Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2016 and 2017 before teaming up with Hendrick newcomers Bowman and Byron this season in the Monster Energy Series. This year marks Axalta and Hendrick Motorsports’ 26th season in a multi-faceted partnership. “Motorsports is in Axalta’s DNA,” Axalta Chairman and CEO Charlie Shaver said in a team release. “For more than 25 years, our partnership with Hendrick Motorsports has enabled us to showcase our industry leading performance coatings that have helped make cars lighter, more efficient and look terrific. We’re excited to continue our successful partnership with Hendrick Motorsports through 2022.” MORE: See all of Gordon's wins in photos The company also opened a 36,000-square-foot Customer Experience Center on Hendrick Motorsports’ Concord, North Carolina, campus last May. This allows fans to become fully immersed in the racing experience. “We are so proud of our partnership with Axalta,” Hendrick Motorsports Owner Rick Hendrick said. “Their long-term commitment to our organization and our sport as a whole has been unbelievable. They are constantly innovating and investing to keep the program fresh, enhance the experience for their customers and ultimately drive value for their business. Projects like the Customer Experience Center on our campus are unprecedented and reinforce the strength of our relationship. “We’ve worked together for more than a quarter of a century, and I believe it’s just the beginning.”