Richard Petty Motorsports has announced a multi-year partnership with non-profit The Lonely Entrepreneur to promote Black entrepreneurship.
As part of the partnership, TLE and the Black Entrepreneur Initiative will serve as primary sponsors for Erik Jones’ No. 43 Chevrolet in Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway (Sunday), Circuit of the Americas (May 23), and Nashville Superspeedway (June 20).
The organizations also will serve as season-long associate sponsors for the No. 43 car.
“We cannot change social and economic justice overnight, but we can empower Black men and women to be entrepreneurs today,” Michael Dermer, chief executive officer and founder of TLE, said in a team release.
“Richard Petty has broken ground in racing and beyond for years. Richard Petty Motorsports will do so again with this groundbreaking partnership to help Black men and women to start and grow businesses.”
The Black Entrepreneur Initiative seeks to empower 100,000 Black entrepreneurs with skills and support through free access to TLE’s Learning Community, an online learning and community platform.
Richard Petty Motorsports itself has set a goal of providing 4,300 Black entrepreneurs access to the Learning Community nationwide by the end of 2022.
“Richard Petty Motorsports is committed to using our voice and our platform to continue to champion our commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion everywhere,” Brian Moffitt, chief executive officer for Richard Petty Motorsports, said in the release.
“As a team, we continue to carry our message of compassion, love and understanding.”
TLE is providing the first registered 1,000 Black entrepreneurs one year of free access to its Learning Community, starting today.
Black entrepreneurs can register at LonelyEntrepreneur.com/bei-rpm.