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CARQUEST Auto Parts has signed an agreement to become title rights sponsor of the second stop in the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park near Phoenix.
“We are excited to return to NHRA Drag Racing by sponsoring the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at the new Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park,” said Ken Bush, senior vice president of merchandising and marketing, CARQUEST Auto Parts. “Phoenix is a great market for us and we are looking forward to working with the new management team at the facility and hosting a great NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event.”
Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, previously known as Firebird International Raceway, is managed by Copper Train Development Partners, which is headed by Paul Clayton and Darren Smith. Dick Hahne has been hired by the group to oversee operations. The multi-purpose facility is owned by the Gila River Indian Community.
“Bringing on CARQUEST Auto Parts to help promote our first NHRA Mello Yello event as the management team of Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park is great news,” said Hahne, track president, Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. “We look forward to working together to develop strong activation programs through Arizona and make the stop here in Phoenix among the best on the circuit.”
The CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals will take place Feb. 21-23, 2014, and is the second stop in the 24-race NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing season. The event features Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock categories, as well as competitors in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series.
As title sponsor, CARQUEST will have extensive on-site visibility as well as commercial inventory in the ESPN2 telecasts of the event.
“We are thrilled to welcome CARQUEST Auto Parts back to NHRA as a title rights sponsor of this long-running event in Phoenix,” said Gary Darcy, senior vice president of sales and marketing, NHRA. “They were very involved in NHRA Drag Racing for many years and we believe their return to the sport is a sign of the value associated with NHRA sponsorship. We look forward to working with them in the future to build and grow their relationship with NHRA Drag Racing.”
CARQUEST Auto Parts served as a title rights sponsor for several NHRA events in the 2000s, including the prestigious NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. The company also served as a primary sponsor for a Top Fuel dragster during that time period.
Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Phoenix has been a regular stop on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour since 1985. The facility houses a drag strip, three road-racing courses, a 120-acre lake and the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving.