K-Mart is an American retail company that owns a chain of department stores.
They have been involved in NASCAR sponsorship as far back as 1970, when they sponsored the Richard Howard-owned #3 in select events. From 1987 to 1988, they sponsored Lake Speed. In 1994, they sponsored Geoff Brabham in his only Cup start. They became sponsor of the #37 Kranefuss-Haas Racing team of John Andretti and later Jeremy Mayfield from 1995 to 1997. In 1999, they began a multi-year sponsorship deal with Travis Carter's #66 team of Darrell Waltrip using their "Route 66" brand of jeans, and sponsoring the #26 of Jimmy Spencer a year later. They continued their relationship with Carter until early in the 2002 season, when they filed for bankruptcy.
Kmart has also sponsored Cup series races at Michigan International Speedway, Rockingham Speedway, and New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Following their time as a sponsor in NASCAR, They purchased Sears in 2004, but continued to decline. They filed bankruptcy for a second time in 2018, and as of 2022, only 3 locations remain in the United States.
Driver Sponsorship[]
Driver | # | Car Owner | Years |
---|---|---|---|
Various | 3 | Richard Howard | 1970-1975 |
Lake Speed | 83 | Lake Speed | 1987-1988 |
Geoff Brabham | 07 | Michael Kranefuss | 1994 |
John Andretti | 37 | Michael Kranefuss | 1995-1996 |
Jeremy Mayfield | 1996-1997 | ||
Darrell Waltrip | 66 | Travis Carter | 1999-2000 |
Todd Bodine | 2001-2002 | ||
Jimmy Spencer | 26 | Travis Carter | 2000-2001 |
Joe Nemechek | 2002 |