Wonder Bread and Old Spice, two of the brands prominently displayed in the 2006 sports comedy Talladega Nights, are returning to the premises of Talladega Superspeedway for the YellaWood 500.
In Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at the 2.66-mile superspeedway, Stewart-Haas Racing will have a pair of entries that resemble the liveries of the movie’s two main characters, Ricky Bobby and Cal Naughton, Jr.
Preece & Chase!
We wanna go fast with @WonderBreadUSA and @OldSpice at Talladega. pic.twitter.com/oxGY2UgvRG
— Stewart-Haas Racing (@StewartHaasRcng) September 25, 2023
Ryan Preece will drive the No. 41 Ford Mustang in Sunday’s event, carrying the branding of Wonder Bread. Meanwhile, Preece’s teammate, Chase Briscoe, will pilot the No. 14 Old Spice Ford Mustang.
“This is an entertaining promotion that allows us to work with two innovative brands in Wonder Bread and Old Spice where we can stand out together amid a very busy fall sports schedule,” said Brian McKinley, Chief Revenue Officer at Stewart-Haas Racing. “Talladega Nights is a cult classic and Wonder Bread and Old Spice were savvy enough to be on board with the movie from the very beginning. For our sport, it’s the gift that keeps on giving, and it’s given Stewart-Haas Racing a great platform to have some fun and engage with our fans.”
The promotion will be amplified across all of Stewart-Haas Racing’s social media platforms and augmented with merchandise that will be available for purchase onsite at Talladega and on the team’s online shop.
Additionally, both Wonder Bread and Old Spice will activate inside the track at the Talladega Garage Experience with show cars emulating the actual race cars that will be driven by Preece and Briscoe in the YellaWood 500. Plus, Wonder Bread is giving fans a sneak peek of the promotion with 2,000 in-store displays throughout Alabama, Georgia, and Florida.
“The Wonder team couldn’t be more excited to team up with Stewart-Haas Racing and Old Spice to give Talladega Nights fans a race to remember by recreating the beloved cars from the cult classic movie,” said John Steed, Senior Vice President of Legacy Brands at Flowers Foods. “We know our Wonder Bread fans love the movie and we can’t wait to share in their delight this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.”
Both Wonder Bread and Old Spice have had presences in the NASCAR Cup Series prior to this weekend’s excursion with Stewart-Haas Racing. In 2013, Wonder Bread sponsored Kurt Busch and Furniture Row Racing in the Fall NASCAR Cup Series event at Talladega.
Old Spice, on the other hand, was one of the founding partners of Stewart-Haas Racing, sponsoring team owner Tony Stewart on the No. 14 Chevrolet for 2009 and 2010, The sponsor would return for a two-race deal in 2019 with Corey LaJoie.
“Old Spice is ready to bring 24/7 freshness to the track this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway with Stewart-Haas Racing and Wonder Bread,” said Kate DiCarlo, Old Spice Senior Director of Communications at Procter & Gamble. “After all, if you’re not first, you’re last, so we’re excited to have Chase Briscoe and Ryan Preece behind the wheels of the famed Old Spice and Wonder Bread cars. This is such a nostalgic moment for us and we’re thrilled to connect fans with more ridiculously fun experiences.”
Of course, Preece and Briscoe have embraced the hilarity of this promotion, which has allowed them to act out scenes from the movie’s many memorable moments.\
“Talladega Nights is one movie that most people have seen and laughed with, and these really cool paint schemes will bring back those memories,” Preece said. “Getting to have my teammate, Chase Briscoe, in the Old Spice car makes it all come together. The movie remains relevant after all these years, and there’s no better track than Talladega to work with your teammates. We’re going to have a lot of fun this weekend and I hope we get the No. 41 Wonder Bread Ford Mustang in victory lane.”
After all, why not turn to Will Ferrell to give you a little bit of luck, especially in a season as rough as this one has been for both Preece and Briscoe, who sit outside the top-20 in NASCAR Cup Series points, and failed to make the postseason.
“Talladega Nights is one of my all-time favorite movies, and I’m really glad that Old Spice was on board to come back to Stewart-Haas Racing,” said Briscoe, whose No. 14 car was once sponsored by Old Spice when it was driven by Stewart. “We couldn’t do this Talladega Nights deal without them, and as a Tony Stewart fan who has gone on to drive his car, it’s really special to be the one to bring it back for all the fans.”
