Searching for more prominence in a wavering market, Ask.com has agreed to a partnership that will involve them in NASCAR for years to come. The search engine and an operating business of IAC have partnered with NASCAR, NASCAR.com and have also agreed to sponsor the No. 96 Hall of Fame Racing Ford.

In the agreement, Ask.com will become the Official Search Engine of NASCAR, enjoying category exclusivity as well as promotional rights to reach the almost 75 million Hardcore Race Fans. Under the exclusivity agreement, Ask.com will now power NASCAR.com's on-site search experience. The leading search-engine is also offering fans the opportunity to utilize their new and exclusive NASCAR toolbar on Ask.com.

Using its proprietary DADS, DAFS and AnswerFarm search technologies, Ask.com will search NASCAR's digital assets and structured data, making it instantly available to fans by entering natural-language queries into the Ask.com search box. For example, the query "Who was the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookie of the year in 1995" will return the exact answer, front and center on the first results page -- something no other search engine does.

"As part of our strategy to go deeper into the highest-volume categories and provide the best answer, the first time, every time, we want to be the first place fans search online for NASCAR information," explained Ask.com CEO Jim Safka. "Through these partnerships, we will break new ground by applying our semantic search technology capabilities to NASCAR-related content while also tapping one of the largest marketing channels in America.

"Our goal is to win over the millions of loyal fans by providing them with the best NASCAR search experience on the Web, and introduce them to all of Ask's capabilities when they come."

This agreement takes effect immediately and Ask.com will begin to debut the above features as the NASCAR season starts next month. Throughout the rest of the 2009 season the search engine will also introduce new NASCAR features available for fans to use.

"NASCAR, as well as our teams, tracks and drivers, will all benefit from the innovative search technology Ask brings to the sport. The biggest winners will be NASCAR fans, now able to get the answers they want about the sport they love at the speed of NASCAR," Brian France, NASCAR Chairman and CEO said in a statement. "We welcome Ask.com to the NASCAR family and look forward to their technology reaching every facet of our sport."

In addition to their new partnership with NASCAR, Ask.com has also agreed to join Hall of Fame Racing as a primary sponsor on the No. 96 Ford. Team officials announced Tuesday a new association with Yates Racing, as well as the signing of 2000 Cup Series champion Bobby Labonte to pilot the No. 96.

"Jeff Moorad and I are excited to add Ask.com as a primary sponsor on the No. 96 car," HoF co-owner Tom Garfinkel said. "We've been working closely with Ask.com for several weeks now, and their talented management team has come up with more creative ideas to serve NASCAR fans than I've seen in a long time. With our new Yates partnership and having a true champion and class person in Bobby Labonte behind the wheel, we're expecting great things on the race track as well."

Ending the speculation, Labonte agreed to join Hall of Fame/Yates Racing and excited about his newest endeavor.

"I'm excited to be part of what Ask.com is bringing to our sport," Labonte pointed out. "In a time like this, it's great to see a sponsor come in with technology and ideas that will help all of the competitors in NASCAR and enhance the experience for all of our fans, no matter which driver or team they cheer for."

Looking for even more fan exposure, Ask.com is now in negotiations with NASCAR-sanctioned track operators as well as media rights holders to develop more opportunities to reach loyal Hardcore Race Fans.