CUP: Quicken Loans Back With SHR

Quicken Loans will double its sponsorship of the No. 39 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet of Ryan Newman next year, the team announced Tuesday.

The lender came on board with SHR this year, serving as the primary sponsor of Newman’s car for nine races. In 2013, it will be Newman’s primary for 18 races.

Next year, Newman will lose the U.S. Army, one of his co-primary sponsors of the No. 39 since the founding of SHR in 2009. That makes the extension with Quicken Loans even more important.

Jay Farner, chief marketing officer for Quicken Loans, said the lender was enthused with its first year with SHR, which led to the company doubling down on its involvement with the team. “We just felt like it was a great partnership,” said Farner.

“They’ve been a great partner,” said Newman. “… Obviously, 2013 is going to be big for us.”

“A year ago I said our No. 1 goal for our relationship with Quicken Loans was to make their first year in the sport a positive one that allowed them to increase their presence with our team,” said Tony Stewart, co-owner of SHR with Haas Automation founder Gene Haas. “While I wish we could’ve gotten them into the Chase, I’m proud of the bond we’ve formed and look forward to growing it in 2013 and beyond.”

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100.