With its current naming rights contract with Mazda set to expire at the end of this month, the still-named Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (above, T.M. Hill photo courtesy of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca) will apparently be operating under a different moniker come April 1. The Monterey County Board of Supervisors — the circuit is owned by the county — voted yesterday, Tuesday March 13, on a new naming rights agreement with Illinois-based WeatherTech that would see the maker of precision-designed floor mats, among other things, becoming the track’s title sponsor effective April 1.
The deal is reportedly for five years — with exclusive rights to negotiate a further five-year extension — at a total cost of $5 million. This figure is less per year than Mazda was paying, but the Mazda deal also included track usage, which WeatherTech would not need, so valuable track time will become available.
WeatherTech manufactures truck bed liners, seat protectors and floor mats within its range of automotive accessories, and is currently the title sponsor of IMSA’s WeatherTech Sports Car Challenge, which is scheduled to race at the central California circuit this September.
