Clean Express ties free washes to Steelers wins and Penguins goals

Express Wash Concepts has signed its Clean Express Auto Wash brand as a partner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the official car wash of the Pittsburgh Penguins, building out a sports marketing strategy that now spans three professional franchises in Western Pennsylvania.

The new deals join an existing Pittsburgh Pirates partnership, giving Clean Express a presence across baseball, football and hockey, according to reporting from Professional Carwashing & Detailing. Both agreements combine team branding, fan experiences, community programs and game-day promotions that reward fans with free washes.

How the promotions work

The Steelers deal centers on a program called Victory Drive. During the 2026 regular season, every Steelers home win triggers a free wash offer. Fans who sign up on a landing page on home game days receive an offer for one free Clean-est Ultra wash, valued at $28, if the Steelers win. The wash is redeemable the following day at any Clean Express location, limited to one per person.

The promotion is built to convert fans into members. New members who join the Wash Smart Unlimited Club through the offer get $10 off per month for the first three months of a Clean-est Ultra membership, and the first 1,000 qualifying sign-ups also receive a $25 Steelers Pro Shop gift card. For every new membership generated through Victory Drive, Clean Express donates $10 to United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania, and the Steelers match the company's annual contribution up to $5,000 for regional youth programs.

The Penguins partnership uses a similar results-based hook. When the Penguins score the first goal of a regular-season home game, fans can sign up for a free Clean-est Ultra wash, again valued at $28 and redeemable the next day, limited to one per person per season. The brand will also back Penguins youth hockey initiatives with co-branded experiences and offers for young players and their families.

A growing Pittsburgh footprint

The deals arrive as Clean Express expands in Greater Pittsburgh. The brand's portfolio includes 59 locations across Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit and Toledo, with 13 Clean Express sites currently in Greater Pittsburgh. Seven more are expected to open by the end of 2026, which would bring the brand's regional total to 20.

John Roush, founder and CEO of EWC, called Pittsburgh an important growth market and said the partnerships let the company connect with fans year-round. The Steelers deal also carries a local connection: Jim Baker, who owns the property where Clean Express operates its Pleasant Hills location, is the longtime fan who recovered the game ball from Franco Harris's "Immaculate Reception" in 1972.

Why it matters for operators

The structure here is worth studying for any operator weighing a sponsorship. Rather than paying for passive signage, Clean Express tied the free wash trigger to specific game outcomes, which creates recurring engagement moments throughout a season and a reason for fans to return to the landing page repeatedly. That turns a branding spend into a lead-capture engine.

The real revenue mechanism is membership conversion, not the free single wash. The offer funnels fans toward discounted unlimited plans, where the lifetime value far exceeds the $28 giveaway. Operators running promotions should design the free offer as the top of a funnel, with a clear path and incentive to convert to recurring billing.

The charitable match and youth sports tie-ins also give the campaign a community angle that pairs naturally with local market expansion. For operators adding sites in a region, aligning marketing spend with recognizable local institutions can accelerate brand awareness faster than standalone advertising.