Mack Trucks and NASCAR have announced a multi-year agreement designating Mack as the Official Hauler of NASCAR. As part of the partnership, Mack will provide 11 custom-spec’d trucks to NASCAR, to be used for hauling all the necessary technology and equipment from place to place throughout the 36-race, 10-month long season. Mack will provide 11 of its Pinnacle model sleeper trucks. Five of the trucks are axle-forward, five are axle-back, and the 11th is a backup for whenever one of the trucks needs maintenance. All the trucks have Mack engines, transmissions, and axles, and come with Mack’s telematics system, GuardDog Connect.

The status of both brands as uniquely American institutions was an appealing factor in bringing this deal together.

“This partnership with NASCAR works on a number of different levels for both of our organizations,” explained John Walsh, Mack Trucks’ vice president of marketing. “First, it’s a great alignment of like brands. We’re both fundamentally American brands—both born here, both continuing to thrive here, and we both share the American values of hard work and accountability. It’s a  good marriage in terms of brand alignment.

“Beyond that,” Walsh continued, “we at Mack intend to use this to grow our business. This allows us to put our brand in front of millions of people, both at the races and various other channels. If you dive into that NASCAR fanbase, a lot of trucking industry decision makers and a lot of truck drivers, whose opinions have become increasingly important, are fans of NASCAR. This allows us to further communicate the value that Mack brings to those two key audiences. It also gives us the opportunity to provide our customers with the kind of unique access to the sport that only an official partner can provide.

“It’s a significant commitment,” Walsh concluded, “and everything you do in today’s highly competitive business world has to come with a demonstrable ROI. We think we’re getting that here if you look at the value for our brand.”