Nicorette, NASCAR sign sponsorship deal

0 Comments | USA TODAY, January, 2005 | by Bruce Horovitz

NASCAR, a sport historically linked with cigarettes and chewing tobacco, has signed on what might seem a most unlikely sponsor: Nicorette.

The stop-smoking product is the first to sign on with the car racing circuit.

The Nicorette deal comes just a year after Winston stepped down as title sponsor of NASCAR's championship series -- after 33 years -- and was replaced by cellphone company Nextel. The new NASCAR season is set to begin with the Daytona 500 on Feb. 20.

Why NASCAR? Where there's smoke, Nicorette smells sponsorship fire.

NASCAR fans are 28% more likely to smoke than other adults, reports Simmons Market Research. They smoke 18% more cigarettes than other adults and are more likely to smoke than NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB fans, Simmons says.

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