SHR/Patrick announces new sponsor

Danica Patrick will be shedding the Go Daddy colors for Nature's Bakery in 2016

Danica Patrick and Stewart-Haas Racing welcomed a new sponsor to NASCAR on Tuesday announcing that Nature's Bakery will come on board in a multiyear agreement as the primary sponsor on her No. 10 Chevrolet, ending a relatively brief new sponsorship search for one of the sport's most famous drivers.

The deal will be for 28 races a year starting with the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

Patrick, 33, unveiled the No. 10 Chevrolet's new bright blue livery Tuesday at the team's North Carolina headquarters, also confirming a new multi-year contract with the team, who has fielded cars for Patrick in all three of her full-time Sprint Cup Series seasons.

"Our brands align so perfectly, it's kind of amazing," Patrick said during the press conference unveiling her new sponsor.

The slogan on the Nature's Bakery website says "Energy for life's great journeys" and surely sponsoring one of NASCAR's biggest stars will be a great new journey for the family-owned company, which makes a healthy assortment of "on the go snacks" including gluten-free, dairy free and kosher baked goods.

The company's health-conscious philosophy seems like a natural partnership with Patrick, who has long been a proponent of a healthy lifestyle from her cooking to her love of yoga, which is well documented in her social media posts and photos.

"Danica Patrick is one of the most fit and health-conscious drivers in all of racing and she embodies the Nature's Bakery customer," said Dave Marson, founder of Nature's Bakery said in a release announcing the deal. "We make great products that complement Danica's lifestyle and the always on-the-go environment in which she competes. Nature’s Bakery provides 'Energy for Life’s Great Journeys' and we’re very proud to embark upon this NASCAR journey with Danica and Stewart-Haas Racing."

It will be the start of a new era for Patrick who has six top-10s and has led 27 laps in 105 Sprint Cup Series starts dating back to a 10-race 2012 season. She most famously won the pole position for the 2013 Daytona 500, becoming the first woman to do so. Her eighth-place finish in that race is also the best ever for a female competitor at Daytona.

This season, Patrick has two top-10s, her best finish of seventh at Martinsville.

Nature's Bakery can reasonably expect good things from one of the most marketable professional athletes in the world.

Patrick's nine-year relationship with GoDaddy has been mutually beneficial – helping make the company a household name while helping propel Patrick to crossover fame, thanks to starring roles in the company's national commercials. Patrick has appeared in 13 Super Bowl commercials – the most of any celebrity.

GoDaddy, which has maintained at least an associate sponsorship with Patrick since her IndyCar Series career in 2007, became a full-time primary car sponsor in 2010 when she raced for Andretti Autosport and kept the level of support through her departure to a full-time NASCAR career in 2013 with Stewart-Haas Racing.

"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," GoDaddy Chief Marketing Officer Phil Bienert said in an April news release announcing the company's decision to move in another direction but maintain a personal services contract with Patrick.

"We have the utmost respect for Stewart Haas Racing and they've been phenomenal partners. … The fact Danica is having a record-setting season makes it tough to leave this motorsports sponsorship, without a doubt."

NASCAR.com