Verizon Wireless Vice President of Marketing Brian Angiolet notes that initially, in addition to promotional brand collateral, fans will notice a significant “weight of activation” at Verizon IndyCar Series venues this season.

On March 14, INDYCAR announced that the communications and technology giant would be the title sponsor of the premier open-wheel racing series in North America through a multi-year partnership. Whether it’s TV commercials or emerging technology, Angiolet said it’s Verizon’s long-term commitment to grow the sport.

“It's our intent to be able to bring new technology into the experiences for fans, especially as time goes on, so you'll definitely feel it not just from a branding and activation standpoint but from a technology and use standpoint,” he said. “Even when you look at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, I think there lies some really great opportunities for us to have some real showcase of where our brand is going, and then with a lot of this, too, we always are very, very committed to the customer experience and our network capacity and capability at these types of experiences.

“I think all that combined, when we do make a decision like this to partner, we bring the full scope and scale of what we have to offer to make it successful.”

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On the horizon to be deployed is Verizon’s LTE Multicast solution at racetracks. This emerging technology, whose potential was showcased in February in New York during the lead up to the Super Bowl, delivers rich multi-faceted multimedia content to multiple devices at once rather than sending it in a separate stream to each user. The partnership, as Angiolet alluded to, encompasses a network upgrade and other projects at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“Internally, we have been evolving our brand and our position in the marketplace from a mobile  and wireless centric company into more of this technology company, and when you think about the role that technology plays in INDYCAR, it just seemed like a great match,” he said. “When you look at the roadmap that we have both in the agreement and from a product standpoint, I think we feel that we now have a platform to demonstrate what all of our technology can bring to the fan base, inside and outside the venue. So it's a perfect match at a perfect time.

“There's just so much technology involved in INDYCAR and the precision, and that is exactly where our brand is going.”

The multi-dimensional partnership linking sports, entertainment and technology begins with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, which kicks off the 18-race season March 30 (3 p.m. ET on ABC). Mark Miles, CEO of Hulman & Co., the parent of INDYCAR and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, said the partnership “takes this sport to another level.”

“We like to think we're aggressive in growing IndyCar racing, and so time is of the essence,” he said. “That's not a financial answer. Financially, the company is in very solid shape and we're very much in an investment mode this year. What Verizon brings is a long list of attributes.

"I've come to already not think of them so much as a wireless company as a technology company. They're our technology partner. We've had a chance to have a lot of conversations about the potential for the development of technology, and it just knocks your socks off and gives me a lot of excitement about the way we can reach fans, provide more value for the teams and the drivers. We're so eager to get on with it.”

Verizon Communications, which is based in New York, is ranked first in the telecommunications sector in “World’s Most Admired Company” by Fortune magazine. Verizon’s operations are divided into three business units: wireless, residential and small business services (phone service, Internet access, and television to residences and small businesses) and enterprise services (IT, security, mobility and networking solutions). Verizon Wireless has more than 101.2 million connections, and its 4G LTE network covers more than 303 million people.

“Verizon as an institution is one of the most compelling companies in this country,” Miles added. “It isn't lost on us that they have a pretty substantial advertising budget, and they're so good at the development of their company and their brand. I just don't know how we could have a better partner in terms of what they stand for as a company and what they bring to us in the way of an informed sponsor.”