Ally Sees Growth With Nascar Partnership, Expands With Dale Earnhardt Jr. Collaboration

Nascar Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. may be becoming the next Shaquille O’Neal. It seems like he’s endorsing as many products as you’ll find on the shelf.

While Earnhardt doesn’t endorse as many companies as Shaq does, his portfolio continues to grow. From a vodka line to working with former Nascar driver Blake Koch on FilterTime, Earnhardt is a partner for a wide range of companies.

“I would just say that although it may sound cliché, we want every partnership we enter into to be authentically Dale Jr.,” Tony Mayhoff, Earnhardt’s head of brand marketing and partnerships, said. “It needs to fit the principles and personality of him as a person as well as the strategy and objectives of the Dale Jr. brand.”

Earnhardt’s latest endorsement is with Ally. Ally is a full season sponsor of Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 48 Chevrolet, driven by Alex Bowman.

Ally will be the title sponsor of the Nascar Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway on June 26, coining it the Ally 400 for the second time in as many years that the Cup Series has taken to the track. As part of Ally’s activation strategy, the financial group signed Earnhardt to a unique endorsement deal that will see him design a paint scheme and create Ally-based content.

“I have been a fan of all that Ally has been doing in motorsports over the last several years,” Earnhardt said. “Both of our brands thrive on the relationships we have with our customers and fans, and I’m looking forward to all the exciting things we have planned, including integrating Ally into our guest segment on the Dale Jr. Download.

“My life and career would definitely have not been the same without so many incredible allies throughout the years, and this collaboration will be a great opportunity to share those stories with listeners.”

Each week, on Earnhardt’s show, he will have an Ally-backed segment. Additionally, he will team up with Bowman to design the No. 48 car for the Nashville contest. This different type of marketing strategy is Ally’s bread and butter.

“We’ve used Nascar as a platform to change the way sponsorships come to life by leaning into passion points of fans and our drivers,” Andrea Brimmer, chief marketing and public relations officer of Ally Financial, said. “And aside from Dale being one of the most popular Nascar drivers in the history of the sport, we share many core values, specifically our commitment to the fans and to the community. It’s a natural fit.

“We teamed up with Dale last year for the inaugural Ally 400. Dale and Jeff Gordon competed head-to-head to design a paint scheme for Alex Bowman. Fans voted for their favorite and ultimately Dale’s design came out on top. This year is a continuation of our collaboration, and we have some fun planned around how we’ll reveal the paint scheme for the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet – the fans are really going to enjoy how this one comes together.”

Ally first joined Hendrick Motorsports in 2019, sponsoring Jimmie Johnson in his final two Nascar seasons, replacing longtime sponsor Lowe’s. The rarity of a full-season partnership in Nascar continued when Bowman shifted from the No. 88 car to take over Johnson’s No. 48 in 2021.

“At Ally, the passion points of the fans and our drivers are important to us,” Brimmer said. “By leaning into them, we can help bring the sport outside of the track and tap into a more casual fan base, while also doing some good. A good example of this is the Best Friends Animal Society relationship we’ve formed through Alex. Ally has donated over $160,000 to local no-kill shelters in 2021 and is looking to grow that number in 2022.

“Each time we are at the track, we see the fans sporting the Ally brand more and more. It’s not only at the track – we hear from them on social media, too. Fans are really engaged in the activities focused on our drivers. We receive photos of fans’ rescue pets, pictures of them standing next to Alex’s sprint car at a local dirt track, etc. Brand affinity numbers for Ally amongst Nascar fans is on the rise.”

Besides working with Bowman, Ally continues to back Johnson when he competes in IMSA, such as during this year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Overall, Ally’s commitment to Nascar sponsorship is indeed helping the brand grow.

“We believe everyone is better off with an ally,” Brimmer concluded. “Working in Nascar has given us a solid foundation to change the way we bring sponsorships to life and reach an incredibly passionate audience, though money can’t buy experiences, engaging fans in unexpected ways and via unique content.

“Nascar is also taking a strong and progressive stance to bring diversity into the sport. And since diversity and inclusion is in our DNA, we are poised to make meaningful and impactful changes for all.”