Ty Gibbs will be sporting a new look for Joe Gibbs Racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend. This is not just a fresh paint scheme for the No. 54 team. Rather, it marks the beginning of a new partnership era for one of Nascar’s most successful organizations.
Saia LTL Freight, which focuses on less-than-truckload shipping with over 15,000 employees, is breaking into the Nascar world with Joe Gibbs Racing. Beginning this weekend, the Georgia-based freight company will have a major presence on Gibbs’ Toyota Camry. While it doesn’t completely replace the loss of FedEx, which ended its 20-year partnership with Denny Hamlin at the end of the 2024 season, this is a new path for JGR.
“It’s super important for us,” team owner Joe Gibbs said a few days before the Daytona 500. “If you think about a company that Nascar fits – we have so many companies that sponsors all of our race teams – and the fact that number one fans that pull for us are all of the drivers criss-crossing the country, we offer a great opportunity for them. We couldn’t be happier to have them on board with us. They’re a leader in transportation.
“It’s going to be a partnership for us that can expand as we go forward. Saia is going to have hospitalities and we’re going to be representing their company. It’s exciting for us, and it becomes a crucial part of our race team, making sure we do everything we can to enhance that company. We’re going to bring some new partners to their doorstep.”
Saia will be on Gibbs’ car for seven races in 2025 to kick off this multiyear deal.
“In 2025, as we were getting ready for the new year and setting strategies with what our goals were, we felt like we are at a stage where we needed to make some kind of a splash based on some of the investments we made over the course of the last four or five years,” Raymond Ramu, executive vice president and chief customer officer of Saia, said. "The company last year celebrated our 100th anniversary. Our customers think of us as a regional carrier and not necessarily a national carrier.
“We felt we needed to get the word out to more people. The thought was sports is a good avenue to go down. We looked at football, college sports, MLB, but we felt like Nascar gives us a great reach. The demographic is ideal for our customer base and, from an employee perspective, having the car and logo, people will say that looks like my truck and trailer. You can see the excitement in the organization.”
For Gibbs, he has been through an interesting few years. Longtime sponsors like FedEx and Mars Incorporated (M&M’s) did not renew deals after decades-long partnerships. Obviously, Gibbs’ grandson racer is the future of the team, and bringing Saia on board for his effort is significant for JGR’s overall partnership landscape. The business-to-business opportunities that JGR will present to Saia will invetiably change the company’s business for the forseeable future.
“Our drivers represent companies, and that takes on the responsibility of representing that company in every way – on the racetrack, in the hospitalities, doing interviews nationally – and you become real close partners with the driver representing the company and me being there,” Gibbs said.
The Gibbs team visited Saia’s headquarters, where the Saia team was impressed with the 22-year-old racer. 2000 Cup Series champion Bobby Labonte also joined them.
“Joe Gibbs is one of the best in the industry,” Ramu said. "When they came in and pitched a deal – Joe Gibbs was actually pitching the deal and I didn’t expect him to be here – and the way they opened up, embraced us and wanted to support us through this journey together was a clincher.
“Ty has a swagger about him and Saia has a swagger. He’s one of those natural fits and it fits really well.”
Between Saia’s LTL services and its logistics business, the freight firm believes JGR is the right partner at the perfect time to expand. The investment in Nascar sponsorship could present Saia with a great return-on-investment, one that has the firm’s leadership quite excited.
Saia will reevaluate its partnership with Joe Gibbs Racing after its seven races with Gibbs before determining how many races it will be featured on a car next year. It will also take a look at the sponsorship’s success to determine the partnership for its third year with JGR.
Gibbs will pilot the No. 54 Saia Toyota this Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which will be on Fox at 3 p.m. ET.