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GoDaddy will not sponsor Danica Patrick’s NASCAR Sprint Cup car in 2016

Toyota Owners 400 - Practice

Toyota Owners 400 - Practice

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Stewart-Haas Racing confirmed Wednesday morning that GoDaddy will not renew its primary sponsorship of Danica Patrick’s team.

Patrick is in the final year of her contract with Stewart-Haas Racing. GoDaddy is looking to sign Patrick to a personal services deal.

The team, Patrick and GoDaddy issued statements on the move:

Phil Bienert, chief marketing officer, GoDaddy: “We love Danica and all she does to empower and inspire people, especially women, which is why we are working to keep her in the GoDaddy family. We have the utmost respect for Stewart-Haas Racing, and they’ve been phenomenal partners. In fact, NASCAR has been a tremendous domestic platform to help us achieve an 81 percent aided brand awareness domestically, but at this stage, we need a range of marketing assets that reach a more globally-diverse set of customers. The fact Danica is having a record-setting season makes it tough to leave this motorsports sponsorship, without a doubt.”

Patrick: “GoDaddy has been an incredible partner for a very long time and our brands have really grown up together. It’s pretty cool, from a marketing perspective, that we helped GoDaddy build such strong brand awareness here in the U.S. I’m excited to work with GoDaddy on a personal level moving forward, but will miss having their bright green color on my racecar next year. At the same time, this is a new opportunity for a brand to pair with me and Stewart-Haas Racing and achieve the kind of growth we experienced with GoDaddy.”

Brett Frood, executive vice president, Stewart-Haas Racing: “GoDaddy has been an outstanding partner since joining our race team in 2012. They helped us grow from the two-car team we were at the beginning of 2012 to the four-car team we are today. Along the way, their business has grown exponentially, proving our relationship to be mutually beneficial. We value all of our partnerships and take great pride in seeing GoDaddy’s association with Danica Patrick and Stewart-Haas Racing serve as a springboard for their global marketing strategy.

“Our organization has been fortunate to have committed corporate partners, a focused and dedicated employee base, and drivers capable of translating these tools to on-track success. It is our intent to continue raising our performance bar with all four Stewart-Haas Racing teams and delivering results to our constituents now and in the future. With Danica, we see a driver with unparalleled resolve and tenacity. She is an individual who transcends the sport and we look forward to fostering new partnerships for her and the No. 10 team.”

Patrick is in her third full season in the Sprint Cup Series. She enters this weekend’s race at Talladega Superspeedway 16th in the points standings. Her best finish this season is a seventh at Martinsville Speedway. She has two top-10 finishes in nine starts this season.

NASCAR Chairman Brian France addressed GoDadday’s departure Wednesday during an interview on “Tradin’ Paint’’ on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio: “We’re always disappointed when, for one reason or another, a company changes course, but that happens. I know recently they went from being private to a publicly trading company and I’m sure that changes a lot of their budgets and strategy and that’s just how that goes. Danica is very marketable as we all know. I’ve really been watching her and she’s been competing more and more at a higher level.’'

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