ForbesGreg Stimmel Brings WWE Playbook To NASCAR Sponsorship StrategyBy Greg Engle<\/a><\/p>\nThe activation in Chicago not only built momentum for the product, but it also allowed Arby\u2019s to see how it would resonate in such a high-energy environment. It was one of Arby\u2019s most successful launches in years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we saw was clear: our presence not only energized existing customers but also sparked strong interest from a completely new NASCAR audience,\u201d said Baker. <\/p>\n
It was the payoff of an idea borne from a pitch deck that proved it was worth doing. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe challenged ourselves to create messaging that would stand out both on TV and live at the track,\u201d Baker said. \u201cRace for the Cheesesteak\u201d delivered on both, with on-track signage of \u201cThis Way for Arby\u2019s Cheesesteak\u201d guiding drivers to the finish line and a commercial that brought the race car experience into viewer\u2019s homes. The concept captured the speed and excitement of NASCAR while giving fans a fun, timely way to engage with the launch of our new Cheesesteak product.\u201d<\/p>\n
NASCAR fans can be a fickle bunch. While they understand that sponsorships keep the sport they love going, they can punish brands who seem fake, and reward those who are clever. In the end Arby\u2019s was rewarded not only by moving over 60,000 cheesesteaks in Chicago but with helping the brand build long-term customers. <\/p>\n
\u201cEarly indicators like strong social engagement, positive fan sentiment, and in-store excitement showed us that fans weren\u2019t just noticing Arby\u2019s, they were actively participating with the brand,\u201d Baker said. \u201cThe partnership with NASCAR helped make the launch of the cheesesteak one of our most successful product launches in recent years.\u201d<\/p>\n
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – JULY 06: Carson Hocevar, driver of the #77 Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet, and Brad Keselowski, driver of the #6 Kroger\/Blue Buffalo Ford, sit parked after an on-track incident during the NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 165 at Chicago Street Course on July 06, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Logan Riely\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Getty Images<\/p>\n
They built off that success three months later at Las Vegas Motor Speedway when the brand brought a Steak Nuggets-branded No. 51 Ford to the track and even had driver Cody Ware serving up samples from an Arby\u2019s food truck in the fan zone \u2014 turning spectators into tasters and cars into billboards for a product they could taste right there.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur primary goal for the Vegas race weekend was to drive social engagement, and we saw results that exceeded expectations across all channels,\u201d Baker said. \u201cA secondary focus was product sampling, which performed exceptionally well throughout the weekend. After the race, we felt confident that fans weren\u2019t just noticing Arby\u2019s, they were engaging with the brand in meaningful ways.\u201d<\/p>\n
So what\u2019s ahead? Well Arby\u2019s entered NASCAR with a sandwich and now has a playbook. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are continuing to evaluate both big and small moments across the full NASCAR schedule that align with our product calendar and business objectives,\u201d Baker said. \u201cWith the proven success of our 2025 activations, we see even more opportunities in 2026 to engage fans, add value during the season, and extend the excitement into the off-season.\u201d<\/p>\n
As NASCAR turns the page on 2025, the sport\u2019s pitch to future partners is clearer than ever: this isn\u2019t sponsorship by logo; this is sponsorship by story. The competitive product \u2014 close finishes, lead changes, unpredictable drama \u2014 keeps eyeballs glued. That drives engagement. That drives value. That drives results.<\/p>\n
And that, more than any courtroom ruling or press release, may be the clearest sign of where NASCAR stands as 2025 ends and 2026 gets closer: If you bring something real to the track, fans will meet you halfway. Sometimes all the way to the concession stand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – JULY 05: Cody Ware, driver of the #51 Arby’s New Angus Cheesesteak Ford, drives during…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":345529,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[150676,49,48,634,82],"class_list":["post-345528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-arbys","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=345528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345528\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/345529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=345528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=345528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=345528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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