Verizon becomes title sponsor of IndyCar racing series

IndyCar said Friday that telecommunications giant Verizon signed a multiyear deal to be the racing series’ title sponsor, rebranding the sport as the Verizon IndyCar Series.

Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

“Verizon is the perfect partner for us to showcase the high level of innovation and technology that is inherent in our sport,” Mark Miles, chief executive of Hulman & Co., IndyCar’s parent company, said in a statement.

The Verizon IndyCar Series’ 18-race schedule opens March 30 with a street race in St. Petersburg, Fla., followed by another street race, the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, on April 13.

IndyCar’s marquee event, the Indianapolis 500, is May 25 and the series’ season finale takes place at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Aug. 30.

Verizon already is the primary sponsor of the No. 12 car driven by Will Power of Team Penske. The company said it would expand that backing this year to include at least eight races as the primary sponsor of the No. 2 car driven by Power teammate Juan Pablo Montoya.

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