The Automobile Racing Club of America and Aaron's, Inc. have agreed a deal that sees Aaron's Sales & Lease Ownership division partner the ARCA Racing Series for a third year.

Interest in the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards is likely to be particularly strong this year, with Danica Patrick competing in select races ahead of her expected future move to Nascar.

Aaron's will retain its position as the official Sales & Lease Ownership retailer of ARCA. The official category sponsorship includes the Aaron's Lap Leader programme, offering a US$500 cash bonus to the team leading the most laps each race, and a US$5,000 year-end cash bonus to the team leading the most laps over the course of the season. Industry sources believe the deal to be in the region of US$75,000.

"Aaron's has been a great sponsor, and a great promotional partner for the past two years," said ARCA vice president of marketing and communications Mark Gundrum. "They activate at-track and in the event markets, they have brought valuable and innovative awards programs to the competitors, they sponsor races - they are a great sponsor in the sport of auto racing."

In addition to their ARCA sponsorship, Aaron's also sponsors the Michael Waltrip Racing team and drivers Michael Waltrip, David Reutimann and Trevor Bayne, plus Pierre Bourque in the Nascar Canadian Tire Series. Aaron's also sponsors the "Dream Weekend" at Talladega Superspeedway in April, with naming rights to the Aaron's 312 NascarNationwide Series event and the Aaron's 499 Nascar Sprint Cup Series race.