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Purdue University will be on full display during Sunday’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard NASCAR road-course race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The West Lafayette-based institution is sponsoring the No. 41 car, a black and gold Ford Mustang driven by Stewart-Haas Racing’s Ryan Preece, featuring a design centered on Purdue University in Indianapolis to promote the official launch of the urban campus scheduled for July 2024.
Purdue’s sponsorship of Preece’s vehicle comes on the heels of the university’s full-season sponsorship, announced last month, of another Stewart-Haas car that competes in the Superstar Racing Experience, or SRX, series. The SRX car is shared by IndyCar drivers Tony Kanaan and Helio Castroneves.
Financial terms for both sponsorships have not been disclosed.
“Purdue University’s persistent pursuit of innovation aligns well with the objectives of Stewart-Haas Racing, making this weekend’s partnership an ideal opportunity to showcase Purdue University in Indianapolis and the world-class engineering, computer science and technology degrees we will offer there from the start,” R. Ethan Braden, chief marketing and communications officer for Purdue University and Purdue Global, said in written remarks.
While university sponsorships of race cars aren’t common, Purdue isn’t a complete outlier, said Ken Ungar, a motorsports sponsorship expert and founder of Charge Consulting.
Coastal Carolina University, Liberty University and Stillman College have all been sponsors for NASCAR teams in recent years.
Ungar said Purdue is a good fit for a sponsorship in Sunday’s race because of its connections to motorsports and its desire to showcase its plans for a new Indianapolis campus. Purdue has the only accredited undergraduate motorsports engineering program in the United States.
“Certainly, colleges and universities are no strangers to sponsorships in general, as they’re both sponsors and properties in their own right,” he said. “I think colleges are keenly aware of the benefits that sponsorship brings. And while this isn’t the first time [for a sponsorship like this], I’m happy to see Purdue being engaged around the Brickyard.”
Sunday’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard is one of three races scheduled for IMS this weekend, joined by a doubleheader on Saturday consisting of the IndyCar Gallagher Grand Prix and NASCAR’s Penzoil 150 at the Brickyard. As part of the weekend schedule, the Craftsman Truck Series will race the TSport 200 on Friday at Lucas Oil Raceway.
Preece has competed in 138 NASCAR Cup Series races—the top-tier of stock car racing—since 2015, most of those coming since he joined the series full-time in 2019. He has three top-five finishes, most recently in the July 30 race at Richmond (Virginia) Raceway, where he finished fifth.
Preece has not won a race in the series, but has two victories each in the Xfinity Series and the Craftsman Truck Series, lower rungs on the NASCAR ladder. He also has a win in the Automobile Racing Club of America Menards feeder series.
“It’s an honor to represent Purdue University in Indianapolis this weekend at the Brickyard,” the driver said in written remarks. “I’m impressed by the program Purdue University has for students looking to make a career in motorsports. Creative, hard-working people can thrive in racing. Knowledge is power, and the more you know, the better you are. To be able to showcase Purdue’s comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis makes me proud.”
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