Cinnamon Toast Crunch, NASCAR Style

👋 Welcome back to Sponcon Sports, a weekly newsletter dedicated to sponsored content strategy in the sports industry!

Tipping things off with a quick recap of the 2025 NBA Draft.

Here’s a look at the sponsored content that stood out—and might inspire your next partnership play.

Jake from State Farm showed up in a suit designed to assist. The inner lining featured a QR code where fans could enter to win tickets to the 2026 Draft. State Farm also partnered with basketball creator Tristan Jass to help promote the activation. It’s part of the brand’s new “With The Assist” platform. [via Alyssa Meyers, Marketing Brew].

The Utah Jazz and SeatGeek brought the party to fans. Those who joined the Jazz’s text list had a chance to get treats delivered to their door—Chick-fil-A, Swig, Crumbl, Arby’s, Little Caesars, and Jazz merch. A smart play for QSR and delivery brands that also builds your CRM.

Carter Bryant had the most meaningful partnership of the night. He teamed up with Gallaudet University—world-renowned for its programs for Deaf and hard-of-hearing students—to raise awareness of the school’s impact. His grandparents are Deaf, and his mom is a CODA, so he grew up immersed in ASL and Deaf culture.

Aires Tech served as the presenting sponsor of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Draft coverage, including branding the team’s war room. The brand, which helps optimize electromagnetic fields (EMFs) from electronics and wireless tech, found a fitting tie-in: “Draft Day optimized by Aires” was a sharp nod to its purpose-driven positioning.

The San Antonio Spurs dropped a Draft hat AR filter. Fans who shared a photo using it and tagged #SpursDraft earned an extra drink ticket at official watch parties. That morning, Spurs fans could also score a free Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit at participating Whataburger locations.

The Atlanta Hawks encouraged fans to book their stay in NYC with Expedia—an easy win to support fans traveling to celebrate the team’s newest players.

The best partnerships didn’t just show up on camera—they added real value to the fan experience, the community, or the content. That’s the blueprint.

In Today’s Edition:

• Eat My Cinnadust 🥣 

• Nike’s 4-Minute Mission ⏱️ 

• McLaren Rings In New Partner 🦔 

🏊️ DEEP DIVE
This Wrap Wasn’t Just a Gimmick

RFK Racing Had the Field Eating Cinnadust in Atlanta.

NASCAR teams unveil new paint schemes regularly—but RFK Racing had everyone feasting on flavor at the Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway.

Chris Buescher’s No. 17 car debuted a Cinnamon Toast Crunch theme, and it was an instant fan favorite.

While the brand brings plenty of recognition on its own, RFK Racing’s social-first content strategy—and their commitment to embracing CTC’s playful, chaotic tone—took this partnership to another level.

The Announcement: More Than Just a Wrap

Ten days before race day, RFK Racing revealed the new scheme—and immediately sprinkled Cinnaspeak into the post copy.

For context: RFK typically features a new Kroger vendor on the car each week. But this time, they didn’t just stick a logo on the hood—they went full send on the experience.

Along with the paint scheme reveal, RFK dropped a limited-edition merch line: hats, shirts, die-casts, and more. Available for preorder, the drop had fans craving it—and the team was ready, according to their official Reddit account.

Race Week: Letting the Cinnadust Fly

Leading up to round one of NASCAR’s In-Season Challenge, RFK leaned into social to build momentum—and coated their channels with fun, irreverent, and highly shareable content.

They kicked things off with 11 Cinnamon Toast Crunch-themed memes on Instagram, each more unhinged than the last. They also turned fan comments into content:

• Highlighting reactions to the rear of the car

• Using Instagram’s comment-to-video feature to show the moment they installed a custom name rail: Cinnamon Toast Chris (the most-viewed Reel of the activation)

They even joined the show and tell trend with their drivers. But it wasn’t just a box-check—it was a custom spin that made it feel like an RFK x CTC original.

And they weren’t done yet.

The Thursday before the race, RFK went carousel-heavy, posting:

• Six co-branded posters overflowing with cereal puns

• High-res images spotlighting every sweet detail of the wrap

• A wild photo shoot with Buescher fully embracing the chaos—complete with Gen Z slang and goofy poses

Then came Cinnamon Toast Crunch Day at RFK HQ. The team invited employee families to visit the shop, meet Buescher, get some CTC swag, and pose with the Eat My Cinnadust car and the Cinnamoji. Smart move. It reinforced the brand’s identity as a fun, family-friendly favorite—and built affinity through real-world connection.

Race Day: The Main Event

On race day, RFK showed they get the brand. And more importantly, they know how to weave it into the fan experience in a way that feels fun, not forced.

Click here for the full real-time coverage—but here are a few highlights:

• A special, Cinnamilk drink bottle for Buescher

• “Cinnamon Toast Chris” taking the lead after a restart

• The rest of the field eating his Cinnadust

• Imagining the No. 17 Ford fueled entirely by Cinnamilk

• The Cinnamoji intimidating opponents on track

• Celebrating fans repping the co-branded merch

Buescher finished ninth and won his head-to-head matchup against Todd Gilliland, aka Pickle Boy (Gilliland’s car had a Grillo’s Pickles wrap). But more importantly, RFK Racing delivered the playbook for how to shine a spotlight on your brand partner—without losing your own voice.

🔍️ SPONCONSPIRATION
Steal These Ideas

Nike’s Breaking4 event—where Faith Kipyegon attempted to become the first woman to run a mile in under four minutes—was a bold, athlete-first activation. Livestreamed on Nike’s YouTube channel, it was a strong example of how athlete storytelling and innovation can captivate audiences and push the boundaries of what’s possible (very on brand).

McLaren kept it clean and effective with a sharp teaser and announcement of their Sonic the Hedgehog collab—proof that simple can still hit hard.

Denny Hamlin dropped an oven POV video as part of Joe Gibbs Racing’s King’s Hawaiian car reveal. Meanwhile, NASCAR pulled off a classic Instagram feed hack featuring the perfect Busch Light pour from Ross Chastain.

Branded Championship goggles are back. We first spotted Bud Light goggles during the Eagles’ Super Bowl parade—now at the NBA Finals, Michelob ULTRA’s logo was seen on the Oklahoma City Thunder’s celebration goggles.

Alex Haddon's People Watching Show continues to crush. His latest? A hilarious visit to the F1: The Movie premiere in partnership with Heineken.

The New York Liberty took on Letterboxd’s “Four Favorites” challenge and turned it into a clever All-Star voting push.

This $100 Putt Challenge from @averagegolfaddicts is oozing with sponsorship potential. It’s a perfect fan engagement format—think golf apparel, branded equipment, even a custom “green.”

🚨 ICYMI
What To Watch For

Tech-Driven Sweeps: LIV Golf’s Majesticks GC took a sweepstakes global by allowing fans to enter at any Trackman golf range or simulator.

Road Trip Revenue Play: The Chicago White Sox posted an off-day video sponsored by Visit The Woodlands, Texas—and it has me thinking: tourism boards should absolutely be targeted for road trip activations the moment next season’s schedule drops.

Virtual Victory Lap: Wrexham AFC’s April promotion celebration was captured using MetaQuest—and now fans can re-live that moment in VR.

AI Caddies Arrive: LIV Golf’s new strategic partnership with Agentforce, Salesforce’s digital labor platform will feature autonomous AI agents to amplify fan engagement. Within the league’s app, Fan Caddie will offer shot-by-shot breakdowns, real-time player stats and standings, help with tickets and merch, and personalized content recommendations based on fan preferences.

Clubs Score TikTok Beta: TikTok is testing its own version of Instagram’s Broadcast Channels, called Bulletin Boards. Inter Miami CF and PSG are among the first clubs with access—worth watching as a potential new channel for owned audience engagement [via Lia Haberman, ICYMI].