• Loading stock data...
Friday, July 11, 2025

Braves and RaceTrac Find Winning Formula with “Beat the Freeze”

The Atlanta Braves found a way to beat Georgia’s hot summers.

Along with RaceTrac, the Braves introduced a new between-inning promotion called “Beat the Freeze.” The promotion gained national attention on June 9, when the fan participant started a premature celebration, thinking he beat The Freeze, only to get passed at the last second and fall down.

“We’re really happy [Beat the Freeze] has taken off as it has,” said Adam Zimmerman, VP of Marketing for the Braves. “That’s our aspiration with everything we do.”

https://twitter.com/Braves/status/873676113402372102

The idea of doing a race came from RaceTrac, a local convenience store that has been a Braves sponsor since 2014. Over the off-season, RaceTrac representatives brainstormed ways to get involved with Sun Trust Park in its inaugural season, and thought a race would be a great way to utilize the ballpark.

“We wanted to highlight our food and drink offerings [for the summer] and came up with the idea of races inside the stadium,” said Ashleigh Womack, Director of Communications and Partnerships for RaceTrac. “Races are an engaging tactic because of the cheering crowd and fan participation.”

Womack and Terrica Bailey, a RaceTrac Partnerships Manager who works directly with Braves, presented the race idea to the team.

From there, the Braves suggested the portion because of the branding throughout RaceTrac stores that say “Unleash the Freeze.” Womack and Bailey said they thought the “The Freeze” would be perfect, relating it to when you think of food and drink during the summer.

When asked what went through his head when the idea was proposed, Zimmerman said the Braves knew RaceTrac had frozen drinks to promote for the summer and that the idea of the race and beating the heat with The Freeze made perfect sense.

Of the race itself, he said, “our job here is to create things that, first-and-foremost, our fans are going to love in and around the baseball action. When it makes sense for a sponsor, it’s great.”

“Beat the Freeze” made its debut on Opening Day and takes place once per home stand. Fan participants are randomly selected by the entertainment team to compete against The Freeze for the chance to win a $100 RaceTrac gift card.

Zimmerman thinks there will be more takers since the promotion gained national attention because, “everyone wants to race [The Freeze].”

“The Freeze”, also known as Nigel Talton, is a member of the Braves’ grounds crew and a former college track athlete.

“We knew his background from being on the grounds crew and he’s a fantastic guy. We’re very happy people can know about him and his track background and aspirations,” Zimmerman said of Talton.

Womack said they’ve seen a lot of traffic with social and media coverage since the race on June 9.

To build off the promotion, RaceTrac offered free small frozen beverages at their Georgia stores to anyone wearing Braves gear on June 16. She also said that she and Bailey are curious to see if people will start cheering more for The Freeze instead of the fan.

Moving forward, both the Braves and RaceTrac hope to continue to build off the success of “Beat the Freeze.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Bruce Meyer and Tony Clark of the MLBPA

MLB, Players’ Union Spar Over Salary Cap As Labor Fight Looms

The MLB Players Association’s No. 2 executive outlines what he sees owners doing.
Jonathan Mariner

Former MLB CFO Jumps to PE, Says Teams Are Undervalued

Mariner worked in Major League Baseball for 24 years.
Jun 28, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) bats during the game between the Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Field.

The Torpedo Bat Business Is Still Going Strong: ‘Here to Stay’

Demand for the oddly shaped bats has stayed strong across the sport.
Jul 1, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during the third inning at PNC Park.

MLB ASG Missing Many Highly Paid Stars, Clearing Path for Youth

Many of MLB’s top earners are not part of the Midsummer Classic.

Featured Today

American Celebs Want to Be Sports Owners. Soccer Is Where They Start

As U.S. team prices climb, investors set their sights abroad.
July 5, 2025

Baseball’s Celebrity Row: Behind MLB’s First-Pitch Ritual

Often planned, sometimes spontaneous, the ritual throw is baseball’s celebrity row.
July 4, 2025

3,000 Hot Dogs, $20K in Prizes: Behind the Nathan’s Eating Contest

Nathan’s serves up thousands of hot dogs and $20,000 in prize money.
July 3, 2025

Geoffrey Esper Can’t Catch a Break at Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest

“Hot dogs is not one of my favorite competitions of the year.”

What Rolapp’s NFL Exit Means—and the Top Candidates to Replace Him

NFL media boss Brian Rolapp leaves; the league hunts for his replacement.
May 23, 2025

New LPGA Commissioner: Women’s Golf ‘Really Hard’ to Find on TV

Former PGA of America COO Craig Kessler will lead the tour.
Gabby Thomas
exclusive
June 12, 2025

Grand Slam Track Cancels Los Angeles Meet As $30 Million Track Start-Up..

Sources close to Grand Slam insist money is not an issue.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
Donald Trump, Nick Saban
May 22, 2025

Proposed Trump College Sports Commission May Never Happen

The White House is not sure of its plans.
May 15, 2025

PGA Championship Tees Off With Free Food, Record Hospitality Sales

General admission includes unlimited food and non-alcoholic beverages.
Jun 12, 2019; Boston, MA, USA; St. Louis Blues center Ivan Barbashev (49) and right wing Vladimir Tarasenko (91) hoists the Stanley Cup after defeating the Boston Bruins in game seven of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden
May 15, 2025

The 10 Biggest Stanley Cup Upsets of All Time

Since the 1984–1985 NHL season, 10 squads have defied the odds.
Allyson Felix
May 1, 2025

Allyson Felix on Olympic Pay, Nike, and Track’s Big-Money Era

Felix talked to FOS about her push to help Olympic parents and more.