And it will be the first time ever that the world’s top-selling bourbon and Johnnie Walker, the world’s top-selling Scotch Whisky have faced off as sponsors at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Beam is an associate sponsor on Jay Howard’s Honda-powered #77 Schmidt-Peterson Motorsports IndyCar.
While Johnnie Walker has not sponsored a car in the 500 before, Jim Beam’s logo was a familiar sight at the Speedway between 2003 and 2008, when it sponsored cars for Andretti Green Racing.
In 2005, Beam was one of the two primary sponsors on Dan Wheldon’s winning car along with Klein Tools. The following year, Michael Andretti came out of retirement to carry the Jim Beam colors in the 2006 500, finishing third behind his 19-year-old son Marco and winner Sam Hornish, Jr.
Marco Andretti had replaced Wheldon following his move to Target Chip Ganassi Racing, and one of the reasons behind his father’s decision to race in the 500 was the need to shuffle sponsorships around the team because of Marco’s age.
The team placed Beam’s Canadian Club sponsorship on Dario Franchitti’s car for the 500, while Michael Andretti’s car carried the Jim Beam sponsorship. That move led to the last Indianapolis 500 victory for a whisky-sponsored car in 2007 when Franchitti won the rain-shortened race in his Canadian Club-sponsored car.
In addition to the Andretti Green program, Jim Beam also sponsored Team Penske’s cars in 2008, but withdrew from IndyCar at the end of that season. The Bourbon brand also sponsored Robby Gordon’s NASCAR team until 2009, when it largely withdrew from North American motorsports. However, Beam was a major supporter of the V8 Supercars series in Australia between 2007 and 2012 with Dick Johnson Racing.