Penske Entertainment and the NTT IndyCar series join the non-fungible token collectibles craze as they gear up for May 29’s Indianapolis 500.
Autograph, the digital collectibles platform co-founded by Tom Brady, continues to make inroads in the sports NFT space with an exclusive deal with Penske Entertainment and Team Penske racing, the companies announced Tuesday.
The deal encompasses three legacy racing properties and institutions, Team Penske, the NTT IndyCar Series, and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home to the Indianapolis 500. The first collection will drop on May 29, the day of the 106th running of the Indy 500, one of motorsport’s premier events.
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“Autograph is thrilled to partner with all of Penske’s motorsport brands to honor its legacy and to help lay the groundwork for its future in Web3.” said Dillon Rosenblatt, Autograph’s co-founder and CEO. “Launching a collection with a growing racing series and one of the most important motorsports teams ever, ahead of the biggest single-day spectator sporting event in the world, is a privilege we do not take lightly.”
Autograph and Penske promise to dip into the company’s long racing history and historical archives, creating non-fungible token collectibles starring past and present drivers and cars, plenty of physical utility, and ticketing activations around the Indy 500 with more information on the initial drops announced in the coming weeks.
“Growing the engagement we have with our fans across the NTT Indycar Series, Team Penske, and Indianapolis Motor Speedway is one of our most important strategies,” said Jonathan Gibson, Penske Corp’s executive vice president. “The convergence of sports and technology provides us many unique opportunities including this new opportunity with NFTs and digital collectibles. We believe Autograph is the perfect partner and I can’t wait to reward our fans with unique opportunities to get closer to the sport through this new innovative relationship. And nothing brings the racing world together like the month of May and the Indianapolis 500, so it’s the perfect launching point for this innovative partnership.”
Last week, Autograph debuted a set of Tiger Woods NFTs celebrating his greatest fist pump in conjunction with his return to The Masters as well as ESPN’s first-ever NFT collection, celebrating Tom Brady’s greatest achievements in conjunction with their Man in the Arena documentary series on ESPN+.
