Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin will have different car numbers for Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race – Johnson will drive the No. 5 and Martin will be in the No. 25 – because of sponsor promotions.
Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin Changing Car Numbers For NASCAR All-Star Race? No Thanks
Lowe’s, to promote a five percent discount for its credit card holders, is switching Johnson’s car number from 48 to 5 just for the All-Star event. Martin, meanwhile, found sponsorship from Farmers Insurance, which wants to run a throwback No. 25 paint scheme.
“Five percent” also happens to be the amount I like the concept of changing numbers for sponsor promotions.
Switching car numbers goes far beyond just having different paint schemes from week-to-week – as many teams do these days. To many NASCAR fans, numbers are personal and hold a tremendous amount of identity (remember the angst over Teresa Earnhardt’s refusal to part ways with the No. 8?).
Ask a fan who their favorite driver is, and they might give you a number instead of a name: The 88. The 18. The 24.
And drivers often refer to one another by car numbers, too: “The 5 was on my outside and I knew the 14 was coming,” they might say.
So while this seems like a clever gimmick on the part of Lowe’s and Farmers, I don’t quite understand why NASCAR would approve of it. I wish someone with influence inside NASCAR would have tried to preserve the relative sanctity of the car numbers from this type of promotion.
Johnson acknowledged the number change was “confusing” but argued the All-Star race was often a departure from the norm.
“The thing we have to pay attention to – and I’m sure (the fans) have opinions – is that it’s the All-Star Race, it’s a one-off event,” Johnson said. “It’s a chance to do something different and to have fun.”
Plus, Johnson said, the fact we’re even talking about the reason behind the No. 5 shows that the promotion is “serving its purpose.”
Still, there’s just something about it that bothers me. Numbers seem more attached to the competition than a paint scheme does, so having sponsorship seep into this area doesn’t feel right (naturally, there’s a $60 diecast of the No. 5 car already available).
Of course, it would really affect the competition if Johnson’s spotter lost sight of the car on the track because he was used to looking for a big “48” instead of a “5.” And in all seriousness, Johnson said he’ll still be using his No. 48 pit sign so he can avoid complications with finding his stall during the race.
You’ll have to forgive me for not being open-minded about this promotion, but it’s one I’d rather do without. It’s unclear whether Johnson feels the same way.
“Hopefully,” he joked, “I’ll walk to the right car.”
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