Dec 12, 2006 6:01 AM, PROMO Xtra

Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts hired Velocity Sports & Entertainment to handle the hotel chain's NASCAR sponsorship.

Velocity will help Holiday Inn set strategy, and then will manage the hotelier's activation of its NASCAR promotions. The Norwalk, CT-based agency will handle the account out of its new Charlotte, NC office. Velocity opened the office earlier this year to handle motorsports marketing for a handful of clients, including ConAgra Foods, FedEx, Toyota and Vitaminwater.

Holiday Inn is the primary sponsor of Busch Series car No. 29, managed by Richard Childress Racing and driven by Jeff Burton and Scott Wimmer. During the 2007 season, Holiday Inn also will sponsor two still-to-be-determined NASCAR Nextel Cup Series events with car No. 33, also managed by Childress and driven by Wimmer.

"Velocity combines deep NASCAR knowledge and relationships with a keen understanding of strategic brand marketing and activation," said Mark Snyder, Holiday Inn's senior vice president of Brand Management for Hotels and Resorts in the Americas, in a statement. "Their approach is precisely what we were looking for as we expand our involvement in racing and build on our success from 2006."

Holiday Inn has nearly 1,000 hotels and resorts in the U.S., with another 1,400 worldwide. The chain is owned by InterContinental Hotels Group, Atlanta.

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