On Tuesday, Richard Petty Motorsports announced a multi-year partnership, which will include primary sponsorship from the Black Entrepreneur Initiative in three NASCAR Cup Series races in 2021, with The Lonely Entrepreneur, a New York-based non-profit organization.
For Richard Petty Motorsports, this continues their social justice commitment that was a large piece of their 2020 season.
“Richard Petty Motorsports is committed to using our voice and our platform to continue to champion our commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion everywhere,” Brian Moffitt, chief executive officer for Richard Petty Motorsports, said in a team release. “As a team, we continue to carry our message of compassion, love and understanding.”
The primary sponsorship duo of BEI and TLE will make it’s debut this weekend at Kansas Speedway and they’ll return at Circuit of the Americas on May 23rd and Nashville Superspeedway on June 20th.
Additionally, the non-profit organizations will be displayed as an associate sponsor for the No. 43 team during the remaining balance of the 2021 season.
According to a press release, the goal for BEI is to empower 100,000 black entrepreneurs by providing entrepreneurial skills and support with free access to the learning community.
“We cannot change social and economic justice overnight, but we can empower Black men and women to be entrepreneurs today,” Michael Dermer, chief executive officer and founder of TLE, said. “Richard Petty has broken ground in racing and beyond for years. Richard Petty Motorsports will do so again with this groundbreaking partnership to help Black men and women to start and grow businesses.”
The No. 43 RPM car, which is driven by Erik Jones, was in a position to win this past weekend’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. However, after a last lap crash, Jones was relegated to a 27th-place finish.
Jones has two top-10 finishes so far this season and sits 27th in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings.
