Getty Austin Hill celebrates his first Xfinity Series win.
The 2022 NASCAR season is underway, and three drivers have already secured a spot in the playoffs. With nine months left in the season, Xfinity, which took over as a series title sponsor in 2014, is on a mission to get fans involved even more while taking on its biggest season to date.
Matt Lederer, VP of Branded Partnerships at Xfinity, met with Heavy prior to the Daytona 500 to discuss the 2022 season, the future of the Xfinity Rewards program, and the biggest personalities in stock car racing. He explained during the sitdown that the customers will be a major point of emphasis, especially during the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 30.
These @Xfinity customers are having a blast hanging out in the #XfinitySeries garage with @JRMotorsports @sam_mayer_ thanks to #XfinityRewards!
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“I think [Xfinity] Rewards will be a big part of [Martinsville] this year,” Lederer told Heavy. “I think what I’m more excited about is the fact that we can plan. I remember last year when we were there, you know, we didn’t know if we were going to be there. I didn’t know if I was going to send customers there. So it impacted how we brand and do all of these things.
“Now we’re gonna have some time to plan, and yes, we’ll do some big things there.”
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Xfinity already provided some unique experiences to NASCAR fans during the season-opening weekend at Daytona International Speedway. The company brought six customers to the superspeedway and gave them the VIP experience. They had the opportunity to meet both Kevin Harvick and Sam Mayer. They also took rides around the track in the Toyota pace car.
The Xfinity Series Continues to Excite Fans
XfinityXfinity’s Matt Lederer has big plans for the 2022 NASCAR season.
While Xfinity has a major footprint across the three national series, whether serving as a key partner or providing free access to the NASCAR Scanner, it has an expanded presence as the title sponsor of the Xfinity Series. The company took over for Nationwide in 2015, and it has no plans on leaving due to the response from the fans, as well as the action on the track.
“When we got involved in this partnership, we pushed NASCAR. This series is not the minor league series,” Lederer told Heavy. “This is the analogy I always use — this is college football to the NFL. I’ll give a lot of credit to NASCAR in that space because they have not ignored this Xfinity Series. They’ve made the changes necessary. The playoffs, the Dash 4 Cash, the driver restrictions. The identity they’ve given to the series, I think that’s transferred into that style of racing.”
Of course, a major draw for the Xfinity Series is the lineup of drivers. There are some big personalities, such as AJ Allmendinger and Noah Gragson, as well as several with the skills to reach Victory Lane on a weekly basis. Some eventually depart for the Cup Series, but they open the door for younger drivers to keep moving up the ranks.
“People also will ask me all the time like, ‘Hey, is it bothersome that William Byron, Austin Cindric, Daniel Suarez all leave the seat?’ No, it isn’t. We like that. A, it gives us those guys at the Cup level who are familiar with the brand, and B, it brings this opportunity for new blood.
“So whether it’s Sam or Noah… We are excited to see what Jesse Iwuji and Emmitt Smith are going to do in our series this year. So absolutely we love [it]. When we start looking at the drivers that we get to work with, we gravitate towards those younger, more dynamic personalities.”
Bigger Moves Could Be on the Way
Xfinity has three main points of emphasis for the 2022 season. Reinforcing its position in the internet provider market is the first, highlighting the mobile service is the second, and expanding the Xfinity Rewards program is the third. However, there could be some other major moves in the near future.
Lederer and the Xfinity staff had an opportunity during the Daytona 500 weekend to meet with the other NASCAR partners. They sat down with representatives from Busch, Coca-Cola, and Geico to discuss the ways in which they could all work together in the future.
Lederer does not know when this crossover will occur, but there will be an emphasis on making something happen in the future. Until this happens, Xfinity will focus on a massive season across the national NASCAR series.
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Xfinity Preparing to ‘Do Some Big Things’ With NASCAR in 2022