[MotorSports News]

Ryan Hunter-Reay officially joined the IZOD team as a brand spokesman in July 2008 - conveniently the same weekend he won the IndyCar Series race at Watkins Glen International.
Obviously, he couldn't be more pleased with the announcement of the multi-million dollar series title sponsorship package for six years (plus a two-year option). Plus, an announcement of his participation in the IZOD IndyCar Series in 2010 is likely before the end of the month ("There's some good things coming," he said).
Click it: IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti talks about the title sponsorship on CNBC
"This is what everybody has been waiting for," said Hunter-Reay, who joined other IZOD IndyCar Series drivers, team and manufacturer principals and the public for the announcement Nov. 5 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. "The work has only begun, but it's a great thing for the series. I love open-wheel racing - since I was 5 years old it's all I've cared about - and for this day to come it's pretty special."
Hunter-Reay has participated in multiple IZOD promotions over the past 16 months, most recently as a sideline guest at the Miami Dolphins' "Monday Night Football" home game Oct. 12, so he's seen the company's progressive approaches.
Check that … after his obligations at the event he headed to Phoenix to join Graham Rahal to hit the links with some marketing, sales and business development pros. Then it was off the L.A. for more of the same over the weekend.
"I believe we're on the cutting edge; the sky's the limit," said Hunter-Reay, who had a high finish of second in the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., in April. "This is going to be a new approach. IZOD and parent company Phillips-Van Heusen don't continue to be as successful as they are without new approaches and cutting-edge initiatives. That's what it's all about."φφ

de Ferran remains on path
Gil de Ferran, who announced in August that he would retire from driving at the end of the American Le Mans Series season and would seek to start an IndyCar Series team for 2010, said he remains committed to the project despite global economic conditions putting a damper on potential sponsorship initiatives.
"We're not all the way there, but our plans remain the same and I'm working hard," the 2003 Indianapolis 500 winner said before the IZOD IndyCar Series announcement. "Both Robert (Clarke, former president of Honda Performance Development) and I are travelling the world trying to secure our future. Since (the ALMS finale at Laguna Seca) we haven't had a moment's rest in an effort to put all the deals necessary together for next year."
As others in the rooms noted, the title sponsorship - and the long reach of parent company Phillips-Van Heusen - could sway potential sponsors, or at least open the door.
"This is certainly very good news for IndyCar, having a sponsor that is clearly behind it and is a sponsor that understands the sport," de Ferran said. "It's a sponsor that will increase the exposure of the series."
PVH not in retrench mode
So with the global economic distress, how is it that Phillips-Van Heusen is pushing forward with deals such as becoming the title sponsor of the premier open-wheel racing series in North America?
"I'm not an economist, I'm a marketer," said Michael Kelly, executive vice president for marketing and creative for PVH.φ"But as a corporation, if you see what we're doing across all of our brands, we have not pulled back in our marketing spend even though the environment became difficult.
"We have grown, our brands have grown, we've grown in market share. While our competition has pulled back on their spend, we see it in the marketplace.φWe've been aggressive with the spend.φWe're fortunate to be able to do so as a healthy company.φIt's bearing fruit for us."
Franchitti, Matos are award candidates
Reigning IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti is on the ballot for two Autosport Awards - International Competition Driver of the Year and British Competition Driver of the Year.
Apex-Brasil Rookie of the Year Award winner Raphael Matos is among the candidates for the Autosport Rookie of the Year Award. Vote for him at autosport.com. The awards will be presented Dec. 6 in London.
Matos is competing this week in the Brazilian National GoKart Championship in Sao Paulo and later this month will compete in the SKUSA SuperNationals in Las Vegas. James Davison, runner-up in the Firestone Indy Lights championship with Vision Racing, is competing this weekend in an all-starφkarting event in Colombia.


11/06 :: 'The sky's the limit'