VIZIO and Hulu Join Chip Ganassi Racing Teams for the Biggest Racing Weekend of the Year

New Programs Added to Team’s IZOD IndyCar Series and NASCAR Efforts over Memorial Day Weekend 

CONCORD, N.C. (April 25, 2013) – Chip Ganassi Racing Teams (CGRT) announced today new sponsorships with VIZIO and Hulu which will see the brands carried on two of racings’ biggest stages on Memorial Day Weekend at the Indianapolis 500 and Coca Cola 600.  The programs include major associate level branding on both Ryan Briscoe’s No. 8 NTT DATA Honda in the IZOD IndyCar Series for the 97th Running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and on Jamie McMurray’s No. 1 McDonald’s/Cessna Chevrolet SS in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) for the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 26. 

The sponsors will also see primary branding on CGRT development driver Kyle Larson’s No. 32 Chevrolet Camaro for the NASCAR Nationwide (NNS) History 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway May 25, giving VIZIO and Hulu Plus 1,400 miles of great racing during one of the most watched racing weekends of the year.

In addition, both brands will be the primary sponsors on Kyle Larson’s Late Model entry for NSCS driver Denny Hamlin’s Short Track Showdown charity race tonight at Richmond International Raceway.
   
NOTES OF INTEREST:

•    VIZIO, Inc.:   VIZIO, America’s #1 Large Size HDTV company ¹ , is committed to delivering the best entertainment experience with its full range of consumer electronics that combine innovative technology with clean and modern design, backed by an award-winning U.S.-based customer support team that has made VIZIO a fan favorite.

•    Hulu Plus:  Hulu Plus offers current season and classic TV shows such as Family Guy, Modern Family, The Colbert Report, Saturday Night Live, and Community and hundreds more through connected devices, including internet-connected VIZIO HDTVs and Blu-ray players, for $7.99 per month.

•    Jamie McMurray:   Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates driver Jamie McMurray once again took the reins of the No. 1 McDonald’s/Cessna Chevrolet SS for the 2013 NSCS season.  Throughout his NASCAR career, McMurray has raced in the NSCS, NNS, and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (CWTS) with a total of 15 wins, 14 poles, 75 top-five finishes and 175 top-10 finishes.  To date, McMurray has 374 NSCS career starts resulting in six wins, 41 top-fives and 102 top-10s.  He also grabbed eight pole awards and has led 1,416 laps along the way.

•    Ryan Briscoe:   The reigning Indianapolis 500 pole sitter started his Indy car racing career with CGRT in 2005 when the team was a three-car effort comprised of Dixon and Darren Manning.  He competed in 14 rounds in the No. 33 Target car, had a team-best finish of 10th at the Indianapolis 500 and won his first Indy car pole position at Sonoma Raceway before a season-ending accident at Chicagoland Speedway.  In eight seasons of IZOD IndyCar Series racing, Briscoe has 102 starts, seven wins, 12 poles, 27 podiums and over 1,400 laps led with a best finish of third in the 2009 championship. 

•    Kyle Larson:   Larson set United States Auto Club (USAC) racing ablaze by capturing four victories in the National Midget division, which is the same division that produced top driving talent such as Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne.  Earlier this month, he won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Rockingham Speedway, which was his first victory in any of NASCAR’s top three touring series– accomplishing the feat in only his fifth career start.  Larson is only the second driver to ever sweep the prestigious 4-Crown Nationals, winning in Silver Crown, Sprint Cars, and Midgets, at the historic Eldora Speedway in one night.  He was a finalist for the 2011 (and ‘12) SPEED Performer of the Year. 

QUOTEBOARD:

•    Matt McRae, Chief Technology Officer, VIZIO:   “Just as VIZIO is committed to performance and leading technology in the consumer electronics space, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams puts those practices to work on the track.  We’re excited to have another opportunity to work with our partner Hulu Plus and wish Ryan, Jamie and Kyle luck as they prepare for three of the biggest races in INDYCAR and NASCAR.”

•    Steve Lauletta, President, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, Inc.:   “With VIZIO and Hulu joining our partner lineup, you’ll see their brands used across a number of the unique assets our racing programs can provide– all on one of our biggest weekends of the year.  We have developed a program not only in NASCAR, but in INDYCAR as well, and look forward to providing value in the investments they’ve made with us.”

About VIZIO
VIZIO, Inc. is headquartered in Irvine, California. In Q2 2007, VIZIO skyrocketed to the top by becoming the #1 shipping brand of flat panel HDTVs in North America and in Q3 2007 became the first American brand in over a decade to lead in U.S. LCD HDTV shipments. Since 2007 VIZIO LCD HDTV shipments remain in the top ranks in the U.S. and were #1 for the total year in 2009 and 2010. In Q4 2012, VIZIO became America’s #1 60+ inch HDTV company based on units sold. VIZIO is the #1 Sound Bar Company and is a top rated sound bar brand 2-years running by leading consumer publications. As VIZIO celebrates its 10-Year Anniversary, it remains committed to what it does best, focus on the consumer to deliver visionary products at a great value. VIZIO offers a broad range of award winning consumer electronics that now include PCs and mobility products.  VIZIO's products are found at Amazon, Best Buy, BJ’s Wholesale, Costco Wholesale, Sam's Club, Target, Walmart and other retailers nationwide. VIZIO has won numerous awards including a #1 ranking in the Inc. 500 for Top Companies in Computers and Electronics and made the lists of Ad Age's Hottest Brands, CNET's Editor's Choice, CNET Best of CES 2011 - Television, Home Theater Magazine’s Top Picks, Good Housekeeping's Best Big-Screens, PC World's Best Buy and Popular Mechanics Editor's Choice among many other prestigious honors. For more information, please call 888-VIZIOCE or visit www.VIZIO.com.

¹ Source: The NPD Group’s Retail Tracking Service based on units sold November 2012 – 60”+ Flat Panel HDTVs.

About Chip Ganassi Racing Teams
Chip Ganassi has been a fixture in the auto racing industry for over 25 years and is considered one of the most successful as well as innovative owners the sport has anywhere in the world.  Today his teams include three cars in the IZOD IndyCar Series, two cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and one Daytona Prototype in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series.  Overall his teams have 15 championships and over 150 victories, including four Indianapolis 500s, a Daytona 500, a Brickyard 400 and five Rolex 24 At Daytonas.  Ganassi boasts state-of-the-art race shop facilities in Indianapolis and Brownsburg, Ind. and Concord, N.C., with a corporate office in Pittsburgh, Penn.

For more information log onto www.chipganassiracing.com