ECR’s major sponsor reflects on ‘measurable’ success in IndyCar collaboration

The ECR team's major sponsor, CPG company Heartland Food Products Group, recently spoke about their success after joining hands with ECR. The coffee industry company announced their partnership with the IndyCar team in February 2025.

Ted Gelov, the CEO and chairman of the company, bought an undisclosed amount of equity in the team, allowing him to advertise his brands in the car's prime location. This advertising saw a rise in the engagement of the brand.

In line with this, the CEO of the company spoke about how the deal with the IndyCar team has helped his company gain engagement and awareness.

“You can look organically, just looking at the crowd that’s forming, you look at the responses that we’re getting but we’re getting a lot of social engagement and that’s a direct result of our participation in IndyCar. ECR as an organization is doing a great job generating awareness for the brands – they’re a great partner to our brands – and yeah, sales are up, engagements are up, impressions are up, it’s measurable in many different ways.” Gelov said.

The Java House was founded in 2019 in Carmel, Indiana. Besides being sold in stores, the company also sells their products, like cold brews, creamers, etc., on Amazon.

ECR team's drivers Alexander Rossi and Christian Rasmussen have shot ads for the brand. One of which has around 22,000 views on YouTube.

The brand also promotes their Splenda and Java House products at some races and has sent packages to 21 lucky IndyCar fans. The brand was also present at the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500, giving out samples of their products.

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ECR owner speaks about the impact of global tariffs on the sport

ECR owner Ed Carpenter opened up about the implementation of global tariffs and its impact on the motorsports industry. Carpenter spoke about how he feels somewhat protected despite the rising costs.

The implementation of tariffs was announced by U.S. President Donald Trump in April 2025. The sport might get impacted by this, as most of the parts for the IndyCar car are imported from other parts of the world.

While talking to Marshall Pruett from RACER, Ed Carpenter detailed why he feels somewhat protected. He said,

“From my standpoint, a lot of what we do, from season planning and inventory, you build up early in the season, and then you use your parts. So in a lot of cases, by the time we get geared up for Indy (in May), we’ve built up an inventory that then gets used through the year." "Obviously, that can change if you have some misfortunes and have to replace more than what you anticipated. In that regard, we’re somewhat protected from the onset just by how our budget cycles always tend to be a little front-loaded with our buying. I think that provides some layer of protection without planning for (tariffs),” Carpenter added.

The rise in tariffs might not impact the teams just yet but will be in effect during the next purchasing cycle, which takes place between October to February.

Edited by Tushhita Barua