With Deal, NASCAR has chipmaker AMD inside.Volume 8 Issue 23 Page 6 by Brent Baird

Advanced Micro Devices is continuing its attempt to close the large gap between it market share of the microchip industry and that of it’s biggest competition, Intel, with an aggressive campaign using sports Marketing. AMD has announced a deal believed to be worth $20 million (over five years) to be the technology sponsor of NASCAR. AMD will use and continue it’s technology to work on the timing and scoring systems used by NASCAR. AMD will implement a mobile command unit to help facilitate the race results. It will also assist in the processing of data from races and studies to help with safety and other research projects that NASCAR has done on it own up till now.

This is not the first high profile sports marketing venture that AMD has taken on. It has worked with Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong and his team on the new design of Trek Bicycles.

AMD will have to start sponsoring a particular team after one year as part of the overall agreement.

AMD has technologies parts like IBM and Hewlett-Packard, but it not up to the same level as Intel due to Intel’s partnership with Dell. AMD is hoping that this sponsorship will help generate new business opportunities that will help it steal some of share away from Intel. I think that AMD has made a bold move; NASCAR is still running a very popular wave in all aspects of the American culture. Business men to janitors all have become fans of the sport, so if you’re looking to make as big of a splash in the sport marketing world (and you can’t afford the NFL) NASCAR is definitely the way to go. IT should pay off for AMD with out a doubt.