Hy-Vee expands IndyCar involvement, sponsoring Labor Day weekend races at Milwaukee Mile
Hy-Vee is revving up for more IndyCar racing, announcing Thursday that it will be the title sponsor for two races in Milwaukee later this year.
West Des Moines-based Hy-Vee has been the title sponsor of the IndyCar doubleheader at Iowa Speedway since 2022. On Thursday, IndyCar and Hy-Vee announced that Hy-Vee will sponsor two 250-mile Labor Day weekend races at the legendary Milwaukee Mile track Aug. 31 and Sept. 1.
Hy-Vee has about 285 stores and more than 93,000 employees in Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois. Since 2020 Hy-Vee has spent millions sponsoring IndyCar to reach new audiences in places like Indianapolis, the circuit's headquarters and one of several cities it is planning to expand to.
Hy-Vee has eight stores in Wisconsin but none in Milwaukee, according to its website. Its closest store to that city is in Janesville, about an hour southwest. At 97,000 square feet, the Janesville store was Hy-Vee's largest store to date when it opened in 2023, but since has been eclipsed by a suburban Omaha, Nebraska, store.
In September, IndyCar announced its plans to return to the nearly 150-year-old Milwaukee Mile at the Wisconsin State Fair Park for the first-time since 2015. The legendary raceway, which opened as a horse track, held its first auto race in 1903 and claims to be the oldest continuously operated motor speedway in the world.
“With Hy-Vee’s passion for motorsports and experience in marketing and promotions, this partnership will create so many opportunities that will benefit both of our brands," Shari Black, CEO and executive director of Wisconsin State Fair Park, said in a news release.
“With our in-store activations and events to promote Hy-Vee IndyCar Race Weekend in Iowa already in the works, adding our name to the Milwaukee Mile 250s weekend fits into our plans for the racing season,” Anna Stoermer, Hy-Vee chief marketing officer and executive vice president, said in a news release. "We look forward to supporting this event in Wisconsin so racing fans, as well as our employees and customers, can continue to be a part of the excitement of IndyCar in 2024 and beyond.”
Hy-Vee began its involvement in IndyCar when it sponsored driver Graham Rahal's car during the second race of the 2020 Iowa Speedway doubleheader. Hy-Vee expanded its IndyCar marketing in 2021, and in 2022 became a full-time sponsor of the No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing car then driven by Jack Harvey.
As Hy-Vee became a major sponsor of the series, IndyCar returned to Iowa Speedway in 2022 after a two-year absence. The weekend's highlights included concerts by high-wattage performers including country star Blake Shelton and his pop-diva wife Gwen Stefani.
How IndyCar's big race weekend at Iowa Speedway came together: It started with a chat
This year, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Kelsea Ballerini and Post Malone will entertain fans during the Hy-Vee IndyCar Race Weekend July 13 and 14 at Iowa Speedway.
The Newton speedway in 2024 also will host a NASCAR Cup Series race for the first time, and Hy-Vee is finalizing a sponsorship for that race, as well, Tina Potthoff, a spokesperson for the company, said earlier in February.
Philip Joens covers retail, real estate and RAGBRAI for the Des Moines Register. He can be reached at 515-284-8184, pjoens@registermedia.com or on Twitter @Philip_Joens.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Hy-Vee to sponsor IndyCar Milwaukee Mile doubleheader
