EXCLUSIVE: Why Hy-Vee Got Into IndyCar Race Events
The track at the Iowa Speedway may be oval, but for Hy-Vee, the IndyCar Race Weekend there is a full-circle occasion. At a media preview for the event taking place July 12-14 in Newton, Iowa, the grocer’s Executive Chairman of the Board Randy Edeker talked about how Hy-Vee’s culture that balances competition and service aligns well with the occasion combining professional racing, entertainment and activities that support people in need.
“This is a great way for Hy-Vee to showcase all of the good things that we are doing, all the things we are working on. Our Hy-Vee Homefront benefits the military folks that are in need in our communities and then we have One Step, which really benefits everyone. For us, it’s been a company with purpose and it helps us compete in our local market, so it’s been a great fit,” Edeker told Progressive Grocer in an exclusive interview.
To Edeker’s point, the Iowa-based retailer is focusing on its Hy-Vee Homefront cause at the Hy-Vee Homefront 250 event presented by Instacart on Saturday, July 13 to increase awareness for veteran and active-duty military efforts. On July 14, the focus of the Hy-Vee One Step 250 presented by Gatorade event will shift to food insecurity, with information on Hy-Vee’s One Step initiatives that support clean drinking water, tree planting and hunger relief, including the 100 Million Meals Challenge presented by Hy-Vee and Feeding America. Race weekend attendees can take part in a bagging challenge to fill bags with items that are most needed by food banks; Hy-Vee is donating those products, plus other unused foods from the event, to area food pantries.
Big crowds are expected at this year’s IndyCar Race Weekend, which will feature double-header races among the industry’s top professional drivers and concert performances by major stars including Luke Combs, Eric Church, Kelsea Ballerini and Post Malone. Fans can expect more high-profile acts and popular racing in the years to come: Penske Corp. President Bud Denker announced during the media launch that the event partnerships have been officially renewed for several more years.
Again this year, Hy-Vee is sponsoring a vehicle driven by Christian Lundgaard, who told the media preview audience that he stopped at a local Hy-Vee that morning and was at first taken aback seeing his face on promotional materials. Later, he told Progressive Grocer, “I found myself! People were looking at me a little weird, which is really a good thing – when they have seen this guy for a couple of years now and see the real version, it’s fun.”
As Lundgaard and other drivers become Hy-Vee customers during the IndyCar Race Weekend, it’s a reminder of the retailer’s core business that enables it to lend its support to good causes and popular happenings. “This a great way to activate strategy at a part of the year where we don’t have a lot of other things to activate about. It is really a strategic part of our business plan and it’s great to see it come together,” said Edeker. “It’s also fun for everyone, because I think our people are proud to have a Hy-Vee car on the track.”
This is final lap for Edeker, as he officially retires as executive board chairman on July 31. CEO Jeremy Gosch – who has helped Edeker and other key Hy-Vee executives steer the Hy-Vee IndyCar Weekend – will take on that role.
Employee-owned Hy-Vee operates more than 570 business units across eight Midwestern states, with sales of more than $13 billion annually. The West Des Moines, Iowa-based company is No. 38 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.
