MBNA to Team with Joe Gibbs Racing
WILMINGTON, Del., Oct. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- MBNA America Bank, N.A., the leading credit card issuer in motorsports, announced a significant expansion of its racing involvement by signing a multi-year agreement to become a principal sponsor of the Joe Gibbs Racing team.
Starting in 1999, MBNA will be the primary sponsor of Bobby Labonte's Pontiac in the NASCAR Busch Series; Cory McClenathan's NHRA Top Fuel dragster; J.D. Gibbs' NASCAR Busch Series car; and Coy Gibbs' NASCAR All Pro Series. MBNA will be the associate sponsor of the NASCAR Winston Cup car of Labonte. MBNA will also be the associate sponsor of the NHRA Funny Car of Cruz Pedregon.
Labonte is currently in seventh place in Winston Cup points with race wins, the sixth and seventh of his career, at Atlanta and Talladega this year. He has added a Busch Series race win at Darlington, the eighth of his career. McClenathan is currently second in the NHRA Top Fuel dragster points and his 21 career wins rank in a tie for third all-time in the division. Pedregon is currently fourth in NHRA Funny Car points and his 20 career wins rank fourth all-time in the division. J.D. and Coy Gibbs, both sons of the team owner, are relative newcomers to their respective NASCAR divisions.
''This partnership with Joe Gibbs Racing gives MBNA a tremendous opportunity to increase our presence in all forms of racing,'' said K. David Elgena, Senior Executive Vice President and Director of MBNA Motorsports. ''We feel we have underscored our stature as the motorsports credit card company.''
The association of MBNA Motorsports with Joe Gibbs Racing is an important expansion of MBNA's leadership in sports-related credit card marketing. MBNA is the official credit card issuer of the National Football League, the National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, NASCAR, and more than 600 sports-related organizations. Joe Gibbs, former head coach of the three-time NFL championship team, Washington Redskins, represents the best in all of sports.
''We are very happy to welcome MBNA to our racing family,'' said Joe Gibbs. ''We look at each of our sponsors as contributors to a joint effort, and MBNA Motorsports with its strong credit card programs will make a great partner.''
MBNA's Motorsports sector is among the company's largest, with more than 300 group endorsements, including NASCAR, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indy Racing League, the National Hot Rod Association, Championship Auto Racing Teams, and American Motorcycle Association. More than 400,000 cardholders have chosen to carry an MBNA NASCAR credit card, which features the picture of one of 46 drivers. More than 100 stars of motorsports endorse MBNA credit cards, including Labonte, McClenathan, Pedregon, and other champions, including Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, Darrell Waltrip, Richard Petty, Mario and Michael Andretti, Al Unser, Jr., Buddy Lazier, Eddie Cheever, John Force, Don Prudhomme, Don Garlits, Dave Schultz, and Jim Yates.
In addition, MBNA sponsors two NASCAR race weekends each year in Delaware: the spring MBNA Platinum 200 and 400 and the MBNA Gold 200 and 400 in the fall. MBNA also sponsors two contingency awards for IRL drivers: the MBNA Lap Leader Award and the MBNA Charging Through the Field Award, and the MBNA World Record Club in NHRA. MBNA is the title sponsor of the AMA Superbike Series.
MBNA Corporation (NYSE: KRB - news), a bank holding company and parent of MBNA America Bank, N.A., a national bank, has $56.3 billion in managed loans.
SOURCE: MBNA Corporation |
