United Association (UA), a USA-based union of plumbers and pipe-fitters, will be title sponsor of two National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drag races, on consecutive weekends in June, as well as sponsoring one of team owner Don Prudhomme's cars. UA will be a major associate sponsor on Prudhomme's Top Fuel entry driven by rookie Spencer Massey.

The deals were negotiated by international agency IMG, which was appointed last year to handle the NHRA's sponsorship and marketing deals. At the time, IMG president George Pyne described the NHRA as a potential "gem", saying: "We're talking about a series with four million attendees, 60 million viewers on TV and 120 hours of programming. A lot of opportunities come across my desk, but most don't have numbers like that. This is a unique opportunity for a series that has an extremely loyal fan base and a great deal of upside."

The UA deal is IMG's first, and appears to signal the beginning of a profitable era for a traditionally undersold sport. With over 80,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA is considered one of the largest motorsports sanctioning bodies in the world.

"This is really about providing the kind of platform for UA that will enable them to drive awareness and tell people what they stand for," said Gary Darcy, NHRA senior vice president of sales and marketing. "This one certainly goes down the path of a nontraditional, nonendemic sponsorship. You look wherever you can for opportunities, but this is the culmination of about nine months of talks, so really this began before the economy went off the cliff."

As well as its two title sponsorships, UA will sponsor the 'midway' fans section at the two races and three other NHRA events, a deal encouraged by Prudhomme. He said: "The midway has a lot to offer, even if you’re not trying to sell something. You get the chance to meet with a great audience at a reasonable price."