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One of the biggest sponsorships with IndyCar over the past three decades has been retail giant Target. However, that partnership will officially be coming to an end.
According to Jenna Fryer from the Associated Press, Target is officially cutting ties with IndyCar and its 27-year sponsorship with Chip Ganassi Racing at the end of the year. The racing team had won the Indianapolis 500 four times and and won 11 total championships.
Newly-appointed Target chairman Brian Cornell has been focused on cutting costs with its marketing budget to be as efficient as possible in reaching its target market. Unfortunately for Chip Ganassi Racing and IndyCar the company determined that it was better off not being a sponsor in the racing league.
“It was a really difficult decision that we made — we’ve been with Chip Ganassi Racing for 27 years and we are ridiculously proud of the success,” Target senior vice president Scott Nygaard told the AP. “But the Target brand is about being fresh and new, so we felt like this was the time to make the difficult decision and expand our sports marketing platform.”
Despite the end of a long-time partnership, Chip Ganassi understands.
“It’s the greatest sponsor in racing, ever,” Ganassi said. “They’ve been nothing but good to me. They developed me personally and professionally. I’ve developed lifelong friends and relationships. I understand things change and people have different marketing efforts, and the way they want to stamp their name on things. But it’s one of the longest running sponsors in racing and they delivered for me and the team, and the team delivered for them.”
It’s unfortunate that the two sides couldn’t agree to another deal, but at least they both understand why it’s time to move forward.
