STEEL WHEELS
PNC Bank, Ganassi team up, give city a larger presence in IndyCar paddock
Associated Press
Chip Ganassi needed a sponsor for his star IndyCar driverand refused to compromise the value of Scott Dixon simply to slap any company nameon the side of the car.
Little did the team owner know he only had to look in his own hometown for a solution.
PNC Bank on Tuesday announced an increased partnership with Mr. Ganassi in which the Pittsburgh-based institution will be the primary sponsor for Mr. Dixon. The car was unveiled in Indianapolis.
Mr. Ganassi still lives in his hometown of Pittsburgh, went to the same high school as PNC chairman Bill Demchak and opened his first account with the bank as a teenager.
“Chip has a few years on me, I won’t say how many,” Mr. Demchak said. “We’ve known each other 30 years or something.”
That relationship led to an initial partnership between PNC and the Ganassi organization that began in 2014. PNC brought corporate clientsto IndyCar races.
“Frankly, we were pleasantly surprised at the reaction we got from clients, the business we got from clients, and the potential for sponsorship,” Mr. Demchak said. “When [Mr. Dixon] came up asopen this year, much to my surprise, it was a pretty easy decision to step up and sponsorthe car.” Termswere not released. Mr. Ganassi used patchwork sponsorship on Mr. Dixon’s car last year after Target left IndyCar after nearly 30 years with the Ganassiteam.
“I was on the phone with the bank one day, and they said, ‘It’s interesting that Dixon’s car is open. It’s an interesting opportunity for someone,’” Mr. Ganassi said. “It took me by surprise to hear that. I’ve never had any sort of partnership or major sponsor based here in Pittsburgh.”
Mr. Ganassi doesn’t want the focus of this new sponsorship package to be on a merger of two Pittsburghbasedcompanies.
“Our brands are a little larger than Pittsburgh,” Mr. Ganassi said. “It’s nice to bring these two brands together, and it’s nice we are both from Pittsburgh, but it’s notthe meat of the deal.”
The IndyCar season opens in March, and PNC Bank plans on having a strong presence throughout the season. Mr. Demchak sees the value in activating at IndyCar events and the potential for both PNC and the Ganassiorganization.
“We bring businesses and corporate executives to the races, and the emotion, if you target the right clients, the emotional attachment to Indy is really strong,” Mr. Demchak said. “It’s a client event that is not typical. It’s not taking them to the Masters or a golf tournament. It’s something totally different, and it’s powerful. It appeals to our broad-based consumer client across the country, and with Scott in the car, there’s going to be a lot of television coverage showing ourname.”