Halo 5 Sponsoring NASCAR Event Next Weekend

With Halo 5: Guardians having gone gold, Microsoft's marketing efforts for the blockbuster shooter are shifting into high gear--literally. Microsoft and 343 Industries have announced that two cars in next weekend's Hollywood Casino 400 NASCAR event in Kansas City will be decked out with Master Chief and Spartan Locke paint jobs. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive the Chief car, while Jamie McMurray rides with Locke.

The Hollywood Casino 400 race takes place on Sunday, October 18. The battle between Chief and Locke is at the heart of Halo 5's galaxy-changing story.

"We have many NASCAR fans at the studio--myself included--and we're excited to see both cars compete at Kansas Speedway," 343 boss Kiki Wolfkill said in a statement.

This is the first event in NASCAR history that Halo has sponsored. But it's not the first time video games have showed up on the race track, as Nintendo promoted Mario Kart with a custom car, while retailer GameStop regularly sponsors drivers.

Unfortunately, Microsoft has not shared images of the paint schemes for both cars. However, Earnhardt Jr. said in a statement that the cars will "highlight aspects of the game." McMurray added: “I'll be running, and representing, the Spartan Locke paint scheme on our car at the Kansas Speedway and look forward to bringing the excitement of the game to the race track." Check out the teaser video above for more.

The Halo NASCAR paint schemes will be revealed this week through a Twitter scavenger hunt. Starting today, October 8, drivers Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) and McMurray (@jamiemcmurray) will tweet clues to the first piece of the puzzle. Ten people who engage with the campaign will win an Xbox One and autographed copy of Halo 5, while two grand prize winners will be flown to the racetrack to watch in person and meet Earnhardt Jr. and McMurray. More details about the promotion are available on Xbox Wire.

Halo 5 recently achieved "gold" status, meaning development on the base game is finished, though 343 continues to work on post-release content, including December's Forge mode and lots of free DLC maps.

This NASCAR promotion adds to Microsoft's existing marketing efforts for Halo 5, which have included a pair of primetime live-action TV ads and the sponsorship of MLS team the Seattle Sounders.

Halo 5 launches on October 27 exclusively for Xbox One.