![\"Patron's](\"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Tequila-Patron-Motorsports-News_Feature-Photo-min.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
As the bleeding continues, another well-known sponsor has announced its final departure from motorsports. After ending its support of Alexis DeJoria\u2019s NHRA Funny Car following the driver\u2019s retirement from drag racing at the end of the 2017 season, the company that created Tequila Patr\u00f3n has announced the company\u2019s departure from the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship following the conclusion of the 2018 season.<\/p>\n
Over the last eight years, Extreme Speed Motorsports and its sponsor Tequila Patr\u00f3n have won the Rolex 24 at Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. The two have also raced in the old American Le Mans Series, the Indianapolis 500, the FIA World Endurance Championship and the IMSA WeatherTech series and have obtained 40 podium finishes and 71 top-fives.<\/p>\n
Stating that the brand is \u201cevolving their marketing investment strategy\u201d in the wake of the purchase of the brand by the Bacardi-Martini conglomerate, Patr\u00f3n Spirits will no longer spend the big bucks to support teams like Extreme Speed Motorsports as well as various racing series like the IMSA.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe very much value the strong relationships we have cultivated in racing over these past many years and believe in the tremendous benefit that has come from our sponsorship and activation efforts,\u201d said Lee Applbaum, Global Chief Marketing Officer at Patr\u00f3n Spirits. \u201cOn behalf of the entire Patr\u00f3n organization, I want to express my sincerest thanks to the immensely talented drivers and crew, as well as our passionate team partners and fans who have offered their unwavering support and commitment across so many seasons, series, and races around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although Ed Brown, President and CEO of Patr\u00f3n Spirits, says that he will always be a fan of every form of motorsports, this announcement is just another in a long list of sponsors that are jumping ship from the sport we all love. Let\u2019s hope that this flood recedes very soon.<\/p>\n