Geico has signed a three-year deal to title sponsor Chicagoland Speedway’s fall Sprint Cup Series race. The deal gives Geico significant exposure in one of the nation’s largest media markets and a high-profile position as the naming-rights partner for the first race in the Chase for the NASACAR Sprint Cup. It’s the first time the company has done a naming-rights agreement in any sport. Geico sponsors the #13 Toyota of Casey Mears in the Sprint Cup Series. Terms of the deal weren’t available, but race title sponsorships typically sell for around $1 million a year. Sources said the Geico deal was backloaded so that the company would pay less this year and more in the final two years of the deal. It includes marketing and promotional commitments. Geico has not made a commitment to buy media for the race. That is sold separately by ESPN, which will televise the race. The deal with Geico closes out one of three open race title sponsorships for ISC. The company is in final negotiations on deals for Richmond and Talladega and expects to finalize deals later this summer.(Sporting News/SportsBusiness Journal)(6-29-2011)
