The Japanese tech and communications giant, NTT has been announced as the new title sponsor of the IndyCar series. Under the new deal, NTT is also the official technology partner of the IndyCar, Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) as well as the Indianapolis 500.
American tech giant, Verizon previously sponsored the IndyCar series from 2014 up until 2018, although, Verizon declined to renew its partnership at the end of the last season. The series has also been sponsored by Izod in past. With the announcement, the series is now officially names as the NTT IndyCar Series.
The partnership was officially announced during the North American International Auto Show as well as the social media handles of IndyCar, including Instagram and Twitter. The statements of both Mark Miles as well as Jun Sawada were published on the official IndyCar website.
The CEO of Hulman & Company, Mark Miles said that, “Having a strong technology partner is critically important to INDYCAR’s continued growth, so we are thrilled to welcome NTT as our new title sponsor.”
Hulman & Company is the owner of INDYCAR and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Mark Miles boasted of the fact that IndyCar has been witnessing a rise in popularity recently. He said:
“INDYCAR’s rise in popularity is a testament to the fact that we’ve made the sport as accessible as possible to our fans, and we plan to continue in that mission"
He further said that, “We have a history with NTT through NTT DATA’s involvement in the sport with Chip Ganassi Racing.
"We know this partnership will help us attract the next generation of fans to what remains the most competitive racing program on the planet.”
A brief introduction to the rich history of NTT Communications leads us back to the origins in 1869 as the Telegraph was first introduced to Japan. The company was a government owned entity, and it was founded in 1952. Later in 1985, the Japanese government decided to privatize the communications company.
NTT generates a whopping 106$ billion annually. Its American subsidiary, NTT Data is the official partner of Chip Ganassi Racing since 2013. Jun Sadawa, President and CEO of NTT said on the occasion that:
“NTT is proud to be associated with INDYCAR and accelerate the future of smart racing,”
Mr. Sadawa further continued, “Technological innovations have the potential to change the sport and fan experience drastically.
“NTT, along with our partners, aims to bring the Smart World to life as we have done for Smart City, Smart Entertainment, Smart Mobility and Smart Manufacturing.
"Based on our lengthy and successful experience, including work in mobile applications, analytics and user experience, we will help to create the next generation of fans globally who aspire to enjoy racing through a more digital experience with INDYCAR.” said Jun Sadawa.
The off-season testing for the 2019 IndyCar season is already underway at Sebring in Florida with 11 cars taking to the track across the span of two days. Further testing will follow both in Laguna Seca on February 8th as well as Circuit Of The Americas (COTA) on February 12th and 13th.
The first race of the season will kick-off on March 10th, in St. Petersburg. The calendar will include 17 races in total with the spectacle of racing, the Indianapolis 500 set to take place on May 26th.
The official announcement can be viewed on the IndyCar website. Click here
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