Schick is stepping up to challenge Gillette’s reign in the razor category in NASCAR. The Energizer Holdings razor brand has signed a deal with Martin Truex Jr. and will put its decal on Michael Waltrip Racing’s #56 car for as many as 10 races, according to sources familiar with the agreement. It also plans to do product sampling in the coming months at a handful of tracks owned by International Speedway Corp. and Speedway Motorsports Inc. Terms of the agreements were not available. Schick, whose Canadian division signed on to sponsor Canadian-born Nationwide Series driver J.R. Fitzpatrick two years ago, is expected to announce the U.S. sponsorships and promotions at Michigan International Speedway, which hosts a Sprint Cup Series race June 19. The deals move Schick into a territory that has been dominated over the years by Gillette. The Procter & Gamble razor company has been an official partner of NASCAR since 2003 and promoted its sponsorship by signing young NASCAR drivers and developing a “Young Guns” campaign around them. The deal with Truex and Michael Waltrip Racing gives Schick ties to a driver and race team for promotions and marketing. Truex, 30, is 22nd in the Sprint Cup standings. His best finish this year was sixth at Las Vegas. Schick plans to supplement that deal with sampling at the track. It is in conversations with ISC to sample at least two tracks, and SMI to sample at Kentucky Speedway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway.(SportingNews / SportsBusiness Journal)(6-11-2011)
