Roush Fenway Racing is scheduled to make announcement at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Monday, May 14th for an announcement regarding the new number on Matt Kenseth�s #17 Sprint Cup Ford Fusion, as well as a new multi-year partner for RFR and Kenseth. Kenseth and team co-owner Jack Roush will be on hand for the event.(Roush Fenway Racing), NOTE: the PR doesn ‘t say Kenseth will have a new car number but a new number on the car. And it could be a special number for the All-Star race like last season when Jimmie Johnson ran the #5 in the event.(RFR PR)(5-10-2012)
UPDATE: Remember that advisory about the announcement of a ‘new number’ on the two-time Daytona 500 winner’s Sprint Cup Series Ford Fusions? ‘They did what they wanted to do,’ Kenseth said Friday from Darlington, S.C. ‘They created a big buzz. That’s for sure.’ Kenseth, a Cambridge, Wis., native who won the 2003 Cup title, said he read the news release like everyone else. Just more carefully than most. ‘Everybody’s kind of worked up about it,’ he said. ‘I just read the release at the same time everybody else did, and I didn ‘t read anything in there that said we were changing our car number.’ An explanation of the ‘new number’ and an announcement of a ‘new multi-year partner’ ‘ notice it didn ‘t say anything about a full-time primary sponsor ‘ are scheduled for Monday morning at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C.(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)(5-12-2012)
UPDATE 2: Fifth Third Bancorp announced a multi-year marketing partnership with Roush Fenway Racing, beginning this season with four races as the primary sponsor of Matt Kenseth’s #17 Ford Fusion in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. A similar number of races for the following years will be announced at a later date.
Fifth Third will be the primary sponsor of Kenseth’s Ford at four Sprint Cup Series races in 2012 including:
Sprint All Star Race in Charlotte, NC on May 19
Quaker State 400 in Sparta, KY on June 30
Crown Royal’s ‘Your Hero’s Name Here’ race in Indianapolis, IN on July 29
Pure Michigan 400 in Brooklyn, MI on August 19
‘Fifth Third Bank is excited to partner with Roush Fenway Racing and Matt Kenseth on this Sprint Cup Series sponsorship,’ said Greg Carmichael, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Fifth Third Bancorp. ‘Our organizations share many common values including a focus on teamwork and a desire to challenge the status quo to be the best at what we do. We are looking forward to working with the Roush Fenway Racing organization, and Matt Kenseth, to help drive our business and build the Fifth Third Bank brand.’ The partnership between Fifth Third Bank and Roush Fenway Racing was announced Monday, May 14th at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte where the paint scheme for the Fifth Third Ford Fusion was also unveiled.(4-traders.com / RFR), see an image of the car on the #17 Team Schemes page.(5-14-2012)
