Race sponsors at a NASCAR race sometimes like to put their own spin on things for the race weekend. Some ideas can make for a great time while the others aren’t so much. For the race weekend in Chicagoland, Nickelodeon is going to incorporate a time honored tradition for the winners that weekend.

For the September 16 and 17 Xfinity and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races, the winning drivers are going to get slimed as what normally happens to celebrities and athletes at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards.

Nickelodeon is involved as a sponsor for the first playoff race for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the final regular season race for the Xfinity Series. The Cup race is going to be called the Tales of the Turtles 400 while Darrell Wallace Jr. will drive the #98 Nickelodeon Green Slime Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports during the Xfinity race.

Adam Stern from Sports Business Journal reported that the winners were getting slimed that weekend. And while that might not be a big deal to get approved behind the scenes, it likely needed to pass several levels of approval. Stern said that NASCAR, the Drivers Council and Gatorade were involved with the track and Nickelodeon in order for the idea to become a reality.

I have to imagine sponsors would be interested in weighing in on this idea. Maybe a driver gets slimed and the slime covers a sponsor patch on their uniform. You can never tell these days what a sponsor will do to get out of a sponsorship deal. Subway dropped Daniel Suarez last week for holding a box of Dunkin Donuts so any corporation can terminate a contract for whatever stupid reason they can think of. Either way, the kids will love it and we’ll have an added wrinkle in winner’s celebrations that weekend. Instead of spraying champagne, the driver will get slimed.

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About Phillip Bupp

Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them.

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