NASCAR racing has both its fans and detractors. Try as I might, I fall into the latter category. For me, watching cars go around a circular track for hours is a great cure for insomnia. Rally car racing is certainly a much more interesting spectator sport, but I digress.

While I don't like NASCAR, enough people do to make it a smart organization to partner with. This is why you see so many sponsorship logos on the cars. Today, NASCAR and Microsoft partner to display the Windows 10 logo on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s car. The partnership expands beyond the superficial, however.

"Microsoft has a proven track record as a technology solution provider and the development of the Windows mobile inspection app has reinvented our inspection process. As we look to the future, we're excited at the prospect of developing new applications and leveraging Windows 10 and Microsoft Azure services that will make our sport more competitive, exciting, and accessible to fans", said Steve Phelps, NASCAR chief marketing officer.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR's most popular driver explains, "I'm a big technology user and really enjoy Microsoft products. Kicking off the Hendrick Motorsports relationship with Windows 10 is a unique opportunity, and there's no doubt our ongoing technical partnership will help us raise the bar in many areas. It's great to see Microsoft is having such a positive experience with NASCAR and wants to do more across the sport. We're excited to be a part of that".

Having the Windows 10 logo so prominently displayed on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s number 88 Chevrolet is downright genius marketing. With that said, it is cool to see the partnership also including NASCAR utilizing Microsoft technologies, such as Azure.

Do you think Microsoft is smart to partner with NASCAR? Tell me in the comments.