3M Renews Official Sponsorship With NASCAR Expanded Category Rights Highlights Deal To Continue Presence In The Sport

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Sept. 10, 2010) – 3M, a diversified technology company serving customers with innovative products and services and a long-time partner of NASCAR, have announced the renewal of the company’s official sponsorship with the sport.

The agreement extends the relationship an additional five years beginning in 2011 and expands the categories for which 3M holds exclusive NASCAR marketing rights. 3M brands involved include Post-it, Filtrete, Scotch branded products and others.

For nearly 10 years, numerous 3M products associated with automotive, industrial, professional and home use applications, have secured exclusive category status with NASCAR taking advantage of NASCAR’s mark and promotional and marketing programs. The 3M products associated with this agreement include automotive refinish supplies, abrasives, tapes, adhesives and sealants, protectants, paint spray products, furnace filters, reflective and graphic films, wire connectors, cable ties, wire markers, hearing products, Post-it® products, cloth products, respirators, automotive cleaning products, medical bandages and label products.

Numerous 3M products are integrated into today’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car including attachment tapes, Bondo™ body filler, adhesives and sealants, as well as abrasives and the Accuspray™ paint systems used in the construction of the car.

“We’re excited to expand and extend our association with NASCAR,” said Bob MacDonald, 3M senior vice president of marketing. “Our NASCAR program is a great way to connect with our customers and to familiarize them with our innovative products. “Looking ahead, we see even greater opportunity to drive sales and contribute to the success of our customers.”

3M’s association with motorsports spans decades and has taken many forms over the years. In addition to holding multiple NASCAR officially-licensed product categories, 3M is a long-time sponsor of NASCAR racing as primary sponsor for Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 16 3M Ford Fusion driven by Greg Biffle in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

3M continues to support NASCAR as a Prize Money & Decal Program (contingency) sponsor in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, and NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, with prize money provided to eligible teams.
“This announcement is more than a sponsorship renewal for our sport,” said Odis Lloyd, managing director, NASCAR Automotive Group. “3M has brought important technology to our sport to improve the safety and performance of our competition. To have a company such as 3M, who has been integrated in this sport for more than a decade, declare that NASCAR is a platform that works for them and to expand on their partnership is a testament to the continued value of this sport to major corporations even in this challenged economy.”

3M Renews Official Sponsorship with NASCAR

NASCAR is one of the few professional sports leagues that have created an automotive-specific marketing program for its family of automotive sponsors. The platform, branded as NASCAR Performance, includes exclusive marketing rights, the ability to co-brand products and product packaging as well as involvement in a long list of integrated media programs. The NASCAR Performance product program logo is a symbol of integrity that represents NASCAR’s commitment to performance, precision and quality.

About NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for one of North America's premier sports. NASCAR is the No. 1 spectator sport – with more of the top 20 highest attended sporting events in the U.S. than any other sport, and is the No. 2 rated regular-season sport on television. NASCAR races are broadcast in more than 150 countries and in 20 languages. NASCAR fans are the most brand loyal in all of sports, and as a result more Fortune 500 companies participate in NASCAR than any other sport.

NASCAR consists of three national series (the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series), four regional series, and one local grassroots series, as well as two international series. Also part of NASCAR is Grand-Am Road Racing, known for its competition on road courses with multiple classes of cars. NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races at 100 tracks in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada and Mexico. Based in Daytona Beach (Fla.), NASCAR has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Charlotte (N.C.), Concord (N.C.), Conover (N.C.), Bentonville (Ark.), Mexico City, and Toronto.

About NASCAR Automotive
The NASCAR Automotive Group, based in the Charlotte, N.C. office, supports sponsorship and licensing partnerships of companies in the automotive category and the Prize Money & Decal Program. Under the NASCAR Performance brand, automotive partners build brand awareness and sales of their products and services via an integrated marketing program. The program includes: The NASCAR Technical Institute – a branch of Universal Technical Institute Inc. (UTI) that trains automotive technicians for the workforce; the NASCAR Performance Network – a nationwide network of quality automotive repair shops; NASCAR Angels – a reality based TV show that repairs the cars of deserving people; a weekly TV show on SPEED called “NASCAR Performance”; a national radio show called “NASCAR Performance LIVE” on MRN and SIRIUS XM Radio; and print and online media programs with the BABCOX family of automotive magazines, and NASCAR.COM.

About 3M
A recognized leader in research and development, 3M produces thousands of innovative products for dozens of diverse markets. 3M’s core strength is applying its more than 40 distinct technology platforms – often in combination – to a wide array of customer needs. With $25 billion in sales, 3M employs 75,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 60 countries. For more information, visit www.3M.com.