(Newswire.net — February 8, 2023) — Standout Management Group (SMG) and NASCAR driver Gray Gaulding are excited to announce today that they will be returning with primary sponsor Panini America, the Official Trading Card partner of NASCAR, and SS Greenlight Racing for multiple races throughout the 2023 race season. Gray will compete full-time in the Xfinity Series starting on February 18th at Daytona International Speedway running in the Panini America #08 Chevrolet Camaro.
Gaulding and SS Greenlight Racing will return with the Panini America paint scheme that saw Gaulding take second place at Talladega in 2019. Gaulding also finished 6th at Bristol Motor Speedway later that season in a similar Panini America paint scheme that also highlighted Panini’s Donruss trading card brand and Kansas City Chiefs Quarterback Patrick Mahomes on the hood. Mahomes would go on to win his first Super Bowl defeating the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV. Panini America has several additional paint schemes it will plan to introduce during the season that will promote its Panini NFT Blockchain platform. Panini’s Blockchain platform allows sports fans to collect digital trading card NFTs in U.S. dollars across multiple sports and around Panini’s most popular trading card brands at www.paniniamerica.net/blockchain.
“When Gray reached out and shared with me that he was returning to SS Greenlight for the 2023 season, it seemed like a no-brainer to rekindle the magic we had previously in 2019 and 2020,” said Jason Howarth, Vice President of Marketing at Panini America. “After speaking with SS Greenlight owner Bobby Dotter about his plan for Gray, it only reinforced that we could attempt something special. We can’t wait for Daytona.”
Gaulding, who turns age 25 on Friday, returns to Xfinity full-time with SS Greenlight after finishing 13th in the overall standings in 2019 and achieving 2 top-10 finishes in 6 starts in 2020 including a 2nd place finish at Daytona. Since 2014, Gaulding has had a combined 147 starts across NASCAR’s top three series.
“I cannot express how grateful and pumped I am to be back at the track full-time with our sponsor partner Panini America along with Bobby Dotter and all my guys at SS Greenlight. Jason and Bobby continue to believe in my ability as a brand ambassador and driver and I do not plan to let them down,” says Gaulding. “Since we started this journey together in 2019, I know that I am where I belong and could not ask for a better opportunity! I am confident that we will have an amazing season and will try our hardest to make the chase!”
“I’m really looking forward to rekindling our relationship this year and picking up where we left off in 2019,” said team owner Bobby Dotter. “It feels like Gray was just making laps in my parking lot in Bandoleros and after partnering with Gray in 2019 and 2020, I think there are still some magical moments ahead in 2023.”
Several new sponsor partners will be announced prior to the Daytona race and throughout the upcoming season. Make sure to catch all the race action on FS1 starting at 5:00 PM Eastern Time Saturday, February 18th.
About Panini America
The Panini Group, established over 60 years ago in Modena, Italy, has subsidiaries throughout Europe, Latin America, and the United States. Panini is the world leader in officially licensed collectibles and is the most significant publisher of collectibles in the U.S., with official licenses for NASCAR, NFL, NFLPA, NBA, NBPA, FIFA, UFC, WWE, College, Disney, and other key properties from many other licensors. Panini is also the exclusive trading card and sticker partner of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Elite 11, and Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc.
Panini has distribution channels in more than 150 countries and employs a staff of over 1,200. For more information visit us at www.paniniamerica.net, www.paninigroup.com, or http://blog.paniniamerica.net/. You can also follow Panini America on social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
About SS GreenLight Racing
As one of the most tenured teams in all of NASCAR, SS GreenLight Racing has been a development hub for drivers looking to climb the ranks. Led by owner Bobby Dotter, the team has fielded entries in either the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series or NASCAR Xfinity Series competition since 2001. Since entering the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2014, SS GreenLight Racing has made more than 350 starts. The Mooresville, NC-based team has collected one win (Fontana 2022), eight top-fives, and 23 top-10 finishes in those starts. For more information, visit ssgreenlight.com.
About SMG
Standout Management Group is a sports and entertainment talent management and activation agency headquartered at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. SMG is considered an “outside the box” agency that works with brand partners and celebrities to help brands “stand out” from the rest by leveraging motorsports, music, and other professional sports platforms. Additionally, SMG uses advanced technology solutions and data capture methods to maximize activation results. For more information, visit www.standoutmg com.