'Natural fit' partnership helps 2022 Indy 500 winner 'stay sharp'

Fans watching Sunday's AdventHealth 400 NASCAR Cup Series race noticed a bold new Allegra paint scheme on the No. 6 RFK Racing Ford of Brad Keselowski. Now Allegra is taking over the biggest race in the world as well, having joined Marcus Ericsson and Andretti Global as the primary sponsor of the No. 28 Honda for the 109th running of the Indy 500.

Allegra is an allergy relief brand which provides effective relief from allergy symptoms with 0% brain interference, keeping users alert and non-drowsy.

"I knew about Allegra or for quite some time," the 2022 Indy 500 winner told Beyond the Flag. "Obviously being a big brand, but also the product as well. For me, it's super important to stay sharp, and the Allegra product with the 0% brain interference, non-drowsiness, all that, is just very important for not only my racing, but also daily life."

He spoke about how, given his own allergies, the partnership was a natural fit, since having allergies affect an IndyCar car driver going in excess of 230 miles per hour is far from ideal.

"It was a bit of a natural fit for me, having allergies, seasonal allergies, so when this was sort of coming about this partnership, it was a very natural fit for me to partner up with Allegra, with the 0% brain interference and non-drowsiness, and staying sharp," he said. "It was just a natural fit."

Ericsson has been in a situation where he has had allergies affect him behind the wheel before, so finding Allegra, and then partnering with them for the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing", made sense for all parties involved.

"I've had [allergies] for quite some time, so it definitely can affect me both in the race car and outside the race car; that has happened. "He admitted. "It's something you don't want to happen because you want to be able to put that all aside and just focus on whatever, if that's racing a car or whatever you have in your daily life, so I think that's why it's very important."

Other race car drivers and fans alike can also take advantage of the product to keep them sharp.

"It doesn't interfere, basically," he said. "I don't feel it, and that's why it keeps me sharp."

Aside from the partnership itself, Ericsson and Allegra are teaming up with a couple of fun activations leading up to the Indy 500 two weekends from now, including one during the No. 28 team's pit stops.

"It's super exciting, and we do a lot of activations as well around it, so you will see during the 500, my pit crew, during a pit stop, we are doing ‘Allegra Pit Shop’, we call it," he explained. "Basically fans will be able to scan a QR code on the back of our pit crew and then they will be able to win prizes and stuff.

"During the race, people will watch on TV and the car will come, I will come into pit lane and pit in my pit stall, and then there will be the possibility then for fans to be quick and scan the QR code, and then they can come and win really cool prizes through Allegra, so it's a really fun way to sort of interact with our fans well."

There are also other fun activities planned before the race.

"Before the race, we're doing this game with Allegra as well, where you can practice your reaction time, that's also something where fans can interact and practice – again, staying sharp as well," he said.

"For my pit crew, that is obviously super important, for me, super important, but also for the fans, so we're doing a lot of cool activations around it, and then also the car is going to stand out on track as well with the colors and everything, so yeah, it's going to be fun to be part of that during the month."

Reminded that his Indy 500 unfortunately didn't even last one turn a year ago, it's a good thing that this partnership and the coinciding "Allegra Pit Shop" activation weren't a part of the 2024 event.

"That's what I said as well!" he added with a laugh.

But it's not all down to Allegra for Ericsson when it comes to preparing for the biggest race in the world. There's a lot more than goes into training and being fit and ready for the tough task that is driving an open-wheel race car for several hundred laps around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Indianapolis Motor Speedway throughout the month of May.

"I think a lot about eating right, getting your fluids in, and all that, and sleep," he said. "I think those are obviously keys to being ready for race day, just preparing to win. It's one thing to go out and do it, but there’s a lot of it that comes down to preparation, so I always try to be very strict and very disciplined in my routine leading up to to races."

Action around the Speedway, Indiana oval is scheduled to begin with the first practice session this afternoon, and it is set to continue through qualifying this weekend before the 200-lap race on Memorial Day Sunday.

Ericsson is feeling good about his chances after last month's open test, and he is eager to put the 2024 race behind him.

"I feel we're good," he said. "The team has done a really good job over the winter to prepare the cars, and I think we had, even in the open test, we were really comfortable in the cars. The balance was really nice, and we had good speed as well, so I feel like we're really going to be strong and be in the mix, and that's all really you can ask for."

The open test was also a great way for him to put his forgettable month of May last year completely in the rearview mirror.

"That was a good thing, with the open test in April," he said. "It was just nice to do a couple of days there and sort of put what happened last year behind us and sort of focus forward. We had a really good open test, but of course, yeah, it would be nice to get out this week and get to work again and just prepare for a strong month May."

Qualifying for the 109th running of the Indy 500 is scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 17 and Sunday, May 18, and the race itself is set to be shown live on Fox from Indianapolis Motor Speedway beginning at 10:00 a.m. ET on Sunday, May 25. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action!