Bass Pro branding in NASCAR spotlight

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Bass Pro flexes its NASCAR muscle

Martin Truex Jr. is on a roll, and Bass Pro Shops is along for the ride.

The NASCAR driver yesterday won the Pocono 400 stock car race, an annual Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series event held at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.

Truex, a Furniture Row Racing driver, crossed the finish line in his No. 78 Toyota Camry decked out with Bass Pro branding on the hood. Truex celebrated afterward in an orange and black Bass Pro jumpsuit and a cap featuring the Springfield-based outdoor retailer’s logo, according to NASCAR.com.

Bass Pro in October extended its sponsorship of Truex for a third year. The renewal gave Bass Pro the rights to feature its branding on Truex’s hood for 16 of the races in the 2018 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series and on the side panels in the other 14.

Truex completed 160 laps — 31 of them leading the race — to win the Pocono 400 over Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch, according to NASCAR.com.

“It’s always fun to win, but especially when you beat the best guys out there,” Truex said in an article on NASCAR’s website. “Honestly, we were all really equal. It was a matter of who could get out front.”

Larson never took the lead during the race, while Busch pulled ahead in 13 laps. Driver Kevin Harvick, who finished in fourth place, led the race for the most laps, at 89.

Sunday’s race was the latest major publicity for Bass Pro, after Truex — and his car — were honored at the White House on May 21. President Donald Trump honored Truex in front of the White House, with the Bass Pro-branded car parked nearby. Trump highlighting Truex’s last season, when he set a career high of six wins and 14 top-five finishes.

In a May 22 tweet, Trump said, “It was my honor to welcome @NASCAR Cup Series Champion @MartinTruex_Jr and his team to the @WhiteHouse.”