Hot Wheels Is Back in the Driver’s Seat With NASCAR

Hot Wheels® today announced a match made in motorsports heaven — a partnership with JR Motorsports racing team and its newest driver, Danica Patrick, as she enters the NASCAR racing circuit in 2010. Hot Wheels will sponsor Patrick’s car during the Nationwide Series season, including primary sponsor placement in the August 14th race at Michigan International Speedway. Additionally, Hot Wheels and Patrick are working together on other key promotional initiatives, including a special Hot Wheels vehicle designed by Patrick herself.

“Our partnership provides a real world association between our brand and the biggest names in racing, and we are thrilled to be partnering with them in 2010.”

“Speed, power and performance and the ultimate race car — that is what connects Hot Wheels, JR Motorsports and Danica,” said Simon Waldron, vice president, Wheels Marketing at Mattel. “Our partnership provides a real world association between our brand and the biggest names in racing, and we are thrilled to be partnering with them in 2010.”

The announcement was made today at the Daytona International Speedway, where Patrick unveiled graphic renderings of the custom die-cast vehicle she co-designed with the Hot Wheels team at the Mattel Design Center in El Segundo, Calif. Patrick’s “Danicar” is the first celebrity-designed Hot Wheels® vehicle and will be made in the traditional 1:64 scale.

“My life is all about high velocity cars, and the only car company I could imagine being able to create my vision of the ultimate fantasy car is Hot Wheels,” said Danica Patrick. “On the track, I am looking forward to speeding towards the finish line in true Hot Wheels style.”

The “Danicar” takes its cues from elements found in race car styles and is truly an awesome machine — the fullness of the car’s back-end and the overall wedge-shape with an open cockpit, respectively. From the chartreuse-yellow Spectraflame paint, to three sets of different size wheels, and adjustable wings on the front and back — all are elements that Patrick and the Hot Wheels design team collaborated on during her visit. This exclusive car will be available at retailers across the U.S. beginning in October 2010.

Since its inception more than 40 years ago, Hot Wheels has had a long-standing history with the automotive racing world — from sponsoring the Snake and Mongoose rivalry of the NHRA® to sponsoring Jack Baldwin’s car in the 1992 Trans-Am Championship to a Kyle Petty NASCAR sponsorship during the ‘90s, plus an exclusive line of die-cast models for NASCAR.