Automobile Club of Southern California renews as sponsor of the prestigious 'Road To The Future' Award

The Automobile Club of Southern California has renewed its sponsorship of the popular "Road to the Future" award for the next two years, it was announced today by National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) officials.

In 2002, the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award will be expanded and combined with the traditional NHRA Rookie of the Year award, creating one prestigious award designed to recognize the future stars of the sport.

Under its new criteria, the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award will be presented annually to the NHRA professional category rookie driver destined for future greatness. The award will be presented by Auto Club representatives during the 2002 NHRA Awards Ceremony. In addition to the sleek ceremonial trophy, the award also features a check for $20,000.

"It is very gratifying to see the Automobile Club of Southern California has decided to continue this very important commitment to recognize the future stars of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series," said Bob Wagner, NHRA vice president of sales and business development. "By combining the two awards, we now have one very special trophy to recognize the top NHRA rookie of the year, which makes the honor even more prestigious and memorable."

Past winners have developed into some of NHRA's biggest stars, including Tony Pedregon (1996, Funny Car), Ron Capps (1997, Funny Car), Doug Kalitta (1998, Top Fuel), Antron Brown (1999, Pro Stock Motorcycle), Melanie Troxel (2000, Top Fuel) and GT Tonglet (2001, Pro Stock Motorcycle).

Recent NHRA Rookie of the Year winners have included Darrell Russell (2001, Top Fuel), Don Lampus (2000, Top Fuel), Scotty Cannon (1999, Funny Car), Jeg Coughlin (1998, Pro Stock), Gary Scelzi (1997, Top Fuel) and co-winners in 1996, Mike Edwards (Pro Stock) and Matt Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle).

"For more than 100 years, the Automobile Club of Southern California has represented integrity, commitment and professionalism to our millions of members," said Jeff Prokop, vice president of administrative and automotive services. "From its inaugural presentation in 1996, the Road to the Future Award has come to symbolize these same attributes in the sport of NHRA Championship Drag Racing.

"The Auto Club is pleased to renew and expand this very special program and we look forward to participating in the development of many more talented drivers as they stand at the brink of future greatness."

Rookie drivers in all four of NHRA's professional categories are eligible to win the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award. A special panel consisting of representatives from the Automobile Club of Southern California and NHRA select the winner from a group of nominees.

In addition to the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award, the company also is the primary sponsor for the NHRA Motorsports Museum presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California, located in Pomona, Calif., as well as the primary sponsor for the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals, Nov. 7-10 at Pomona Raceway. The company also is a major sponsor for John Force Racing, providing associate sponsorship for the Ford Mustangs driven by Force and Tony Pedregon, as well as major sponsorship for the Mustang driven by Gary Densham.

The Automobile Club of Southern California is the largest affiliate of AAA. Today, the Auto Club's members benefit by the organization's emergency road service, financial products, travel agency and trip planning services, highway and transportation safety programs, insurance products and services, automotive pricing, buying and financing programs and automotive testing and analysis.    

Summit to sponsor NHRA POWERade Series event at Atlanta Dragway

Summit Racing Equipment, an industry leader in distribution of auto racing parts and equipment through catalogs and the Internet, has signed a multi-year agreement with the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) to become the title sponsor of the NHRA POWERADE Drag Racing Series event at Atlanta Dragway, officials from the world's largest motorsports sanctioning organization announced today.

The Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals presented by Pontiac will be held May 2-5 at the Commerce, Ga.-based quarter-mile facility. The $1.8 million race, which will be televised by ESPN2, is the seventh of 23 events in the NHRA POWERADE Drag Racing Series for 2002.

"We are very excited about this new marketing program, " said Skooter Peaco, motorsports manager for Summit Racing Equipment. "The Southern Nationals has a long tradition in the South and we feel that this will be an excellent way to further develop our customer base and interact with existing customers in that region of the country."

It is the third NHRA event sponsorship involvement for Summit Racing Equipment, who also is the title sponsor for the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in early April. In addition, the company also is a presenting sponsor of the Pontiac Excitement Nationals presented by Summit Racing at National Trail Raceway near Columbus, Ohio.

"The third NHRA event sponsorship means we can now interact with our Northern customers at the Pontiac Excitement Nationals presented by Summit Racing in Columbus, our Western customers at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas and now the South with the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals presented by Pontiac," Peaco added. "Obviously we are very pleased to grow our relationship with presenting sponsor Pontiac in this new venture. With Atlanta being the home of the Coca-Cola Corporation, I'm sure this event will become the premier NHRA event in the South because of the POWERADE sponsorship and Coca-Cola's presence in the market. We're certain that this long-term commitment to NHRA will benefit all parties, including the dedicated racers and fans."

The Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals presented by Pontiac is the marquee event at Atlanta Dragway, one of five drag racing facilities in the U.S. owned and operated by the NHRA.

"We're proud to bring Summit Racing Equipment into our family as the title sponsor for our biggest annual event, and a very important stop on the 23-race NHRA POWERADE Drag Racing Series tour," said Craig Armstrong, Atlanta Dragway general manager. "We realize this event generates a lot of excitement in the drag racing community and as a 22nd annual event, has a rich history in NHRA competition. We're certain that Summit Racing Equipment's alliance with the event will only strengthen and enhance the overall experience."

The event sponsorship increases Summit Racing Equipment's involvement with the NHRA. In addition to the three NHRA POWERADE Drag Racing Series event sponsorships, the company also is the title sponsor for two important NHRA Drag Racing Series', including the NHRA Summit Sport Compact Series, a nationwide touring series for sport compact and import sedans, and the NHRA Summit Racing Series, the premier grassroots program featured weekly at all NHRA member tracks. Summit Racing also is the primary sponsor for the Pontiac Grand Am driven by Mark Pawuk in Pro Stock competition, as well as the primary sponsor for the '69 Camaro driven by talented Super Stock racer Dan Fletcher, the Super Comp/Super Gas entries of Mark Horton and the Pro Modified team of Jim Oddy & Fred Hahn. Finally, Summit Racing Equipment is the Official Automotive Mail Order Catalog of the NHRA.

"It's gratifying to see a progressive company like Summit Racing Equipment expand their commitment to the NHRA by becoming the title sponsor for this very important NHRA POWERADE Drag Racing Series event, sure to be a pivotal race as NHRA professional category teams chase valuable championship points," said Bob Wagner, NHRA vice president of sales and business development. "Summit Racing Equipment continues to be an outstanding partner in growing our fan base and certainly has demonstrated a keen ability to effectively utilize a variety of NHRA inventory, including national event sponsorships, race team sponsorships and NHRA race series sponsorships, as a part of its overall marketing strategy."