July 14, 2021 | By Lee Spencer

Kyle Larson earns contract extension, full-season sponsorship with performance

Kyle Larson has proven that the age-old adage, “Win on Sunday, sell on Monday,” still applies to NASCAR and its fan base.

Look no further than HendrickCars.com coming on board as the majority sponsor for Larson and the No. 5 Chevrolet for the next two seasons—as well as all of his racing endeavors outside of NASCAR.

On Wednesday, Hendrick Motorsports formally announced the expansion of the sponsorship—along with a one-year extension that will keep the versatile racer under the roof through 2023.

“When we perform on the track on Sunday, we can feel the impact on Monday,” said Rick Hendrick, chairman and CEO of Hendrick Automotive Group and owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “With the chance to plan for the next two years, the program is only going to help Hendrick Automotive Group sell more cars, book more service appointments and ultimately do more business.

“It will also allow our company to recruit talented people and support our internal recognition and incentive programs. The more we followed the data, the easier the decision became. We are seeing clear results.”

And Larson’s results since joining Hendrick have been equally impressive. Larson’s four wins in the first 21 races of 2021 are the NASCAR Cup Series’ best, equal to his career-high from 2017. His 1,441 laps led, 12 stage wins and an average finish of 10.4 also are personal bests in a season for the driver.

“The chance to extend my contract with Hendrick Motorsports and have such an awesome sponsor in HendrickCars.com are things I don’t take for granted,” Larson said. “I feel like I’m driving for the best team and the best sponsors in the sport. To know that our on-track performance is having positive business influence off the track is very important because I want to return the incredible support they’ve given me.

“Everyone at Hendrick Automotive Group has made me feel like part of their team, and it’s exciting to be able to represent a company that loves racing like I do. I feel like we’re just scratching the surface of what’s possible.”

The return on investment has been remarkable with the 28-year-old racer behind the wheel. Larson’s success on the track has increased traffic to the HendrickCars.com site by 27-percent.

Although Hendrick had two sponsors on the line to support Larson’s effort, the automotive arm of the company overwhelmingly wanted to continue the partnership.

“More website traffic generates more sales leads, which ultimately help us sell more cars,” said Darryl Jackson, vice president of financial services for Hendrick Automotive Group. “Kyle’s performance on the track has delivered a measurable business return for us. The company is on pace for a record year in 2021, and we certainly see our motorsports programs contributing to that success.

“Racing is in our DNA, and tapping into the passionate fan bases of NASCAR, the NHRA and now Kyle’s grassroots program is both very effective and a perfect fit for who we are.”