Kubota has signed on with NASCAR Holdings to become a partner of the governing body, as the racing property continues to dial up deals with blue-collar brands. The sides formally announced the pact Thursday morning, with Kubota getting category exclusivity as official tractor, construction equipment, compact equipment and utility vehicle of the Florida-based sanctioning body. No terms were revealed except the standard designation of the contract lasting multiple years.
This is not a new category for NASCAR. Rival company New Holland became the official agricultural equipment maker of NASCAR in 2012. As part of the deal with Kubota, NASCAR will use some of the company’s equipment at its tracks for facility maintenance and event preparation. The Japanese company, whose U.S. HQ is in Texas, also has a pre-existing team deal with Trackhouse Racing that started in 2022.
NASCAR has been making a concerted effort in recent months to ensure that any new sponsor also does a team-side relationship, according to people familiar with the matter, although Kubota was already in the sport and saw value in adding a league touchpoint to its presence. The company will also get the same category designations at the NASCAR San Diego weekend in June, and it will host a ceremony at the event, where it will award five U.S. military veterans, who now serve as farmers, with new Kubota equipment in front of race attendees.
REACHING OUT: Part of Kubota’s Geared to Give philanthropic program, the recipients and one guest of theirs will also receive tickets to the race weekend, including access to Kubota’s suite and a meet-and-greet with Trackhouse driver Ross Chastain, whose family are multi-generational farmers. Kubota products will be displayed in the fan zone at San Diego.
Under chief commercial officer Craig Stimmel, who joined NASCAR in late 2024, the racing league has been trying to reach out to value brands and companies that have a large blue-collar customer base, given the sport’s traditional fan base that is partially concentrated in the Southeast and Midwest of the U.S. For example, NASCAR recently was part of a licensing maneuver with Texas-based gas station chain Buc-ee’s that involved selling NASCAR/Buc-ee’s co-branded shirts in stores across the country. O’Reilly Auto Parts also became the title sponsor of the sport’s secondary series this year, while Hardee’s became NASCAR’s first official QSR in over a decade.