Castrol Americas Announces Winners in the Castrol SYNTEC Outperformers Program
Program Searched America to Find Most Passionate Young Car Lovers and Introduce Them to Automotive Service Careers
WAYNE, N.J., July 6 -- Castrol Americas announced today the winning students and instructor in the Castrol SYNTEC Outperformers program, a nationwide search to find America's most passionate young car lovers and to introduce them to careers as automotive service technicians.
James Steel of San Diego, CA; William Ring, Jr. of Dacula, GA; Jarrell Brown of The Colony, TX; and Mark Gilmour of Ripon, WI, are the regional winners who will compete for national honors later this summer. The winning instructor was Gary Wilfong of Frederick, MD.
Each of the four regional winners will receive once-in-a-lifetime visits to the headquarters of John Force Racing, home to the cars driven by legendary drag racer John Force. Primedia, America's foremost automotive enthusiast publisher, will also open its Southern California automotive facilities to the regional winners, to let them view first-hand the way Primedia automotive experts repair, modify and create the spectacular vehicles that appear on the pages of Hot Rod, Chevy High Performance, Mustang 5.0 and dozens of other automotive magazines. In addition, the regional winners will receive:
-- Two tickets to the 40th annual Automobile Club of Southern California
NHRA Finals in Pomona to be held the weekend of Nov. 13, 2004.
-- A year's supply (four cases) of Castrol SYNTEC motor oil.
-- A Castrol SYNTEC hat and t-shirt.
-- $1,000 worth of new Mac Tools.
-- A framed certificate recognizing successful completion of Castrol's
Synthetic Motor Oil Education Program.
In addition, one individual will be chosen from the four as the national Castrol SYNTEC Outperformers winner, and will receive a $7,500 scholarship to attend a racing and high-performance program.
Winning instructor Gary Wilfong, recognized for recruiting the most entrants in the competition, will enjoy a trip for two to southern California to tour the John Force Racing headquarters, two tickets to the 40th annual Automobile Club of southern California NHRA Finals in Pomona, $1,000 worth of new Mac Tools, a Castrol racing jacket and hat and a donation of 50 cases of Castrol SYNTEC motor oil for classroom use.
The Castrol SYNTEC Outperformers program was open to any man or woman, ages 16 to 22, who visited http://www.syntecoutperformers.com/ and completed a special educational curriculum about synthetic oils and a series of questions surrounding the topic of automotive service and passion for cars. A blue-ribbon panel of judges that included John Force; Steve Clark, national account manager, Mac Tools; John Lypen, editor/publisher, Motor; Tim Miranda, manager, engineering/OEM/customer care, Castrol Technology Center; Rick Pewe, editor, 4-Wheel & Off-Road; Angie Kilbourne, managing editor, Motor Age; and Matt King, senior editor, Hot Rod evaluated the entrants, determining the four regional winners and a soon-to-be-announced national winner.
The Castrol SYNTEC Outperformers program was an extension of a similar initiative, the Castrol GTX Top Techs program, conducted in 2003 in which Castrol identified and recognized the finest automotive service students in America.
According to Mike DeBiasi, Castrol SYNTEC Brand Manager, the hundreds of entrants in the 2004 Castrol SYNTEC Outperformers program demonstrated the passion and enthusiasm that young men and women continue to demonstrate for their cars. "Castrol wants to help young people channel their enthusiasm into careers that are financially attractive, challenging and rewarding," DeBiasi said.
The Castrol SYNTEC Outperfomers program also addresses the lack of knowledge about motor oils and the impact of synthetic motor oil on vehicle and engine performance and protection. "Motor oil serves to protect the most important part of a vehicle, the engine," DeBiasi said. "The Castrol SYNTEC Outperfomers program helped educate young automotive service students and automotive enthusiasts about motor oil, so that when they're working in repair shops and dealerships across America, they can serve as credible, knowledgeable sources of information for the driving public."
The Pacific regional winner, James Steel, is a resident of San Diego and attends Cuyamaca College in El Cajon, CA. The Southeast regional winner, William Ring, Jr., lives in Dacula, GA, and studies at Gwinnett Technical College in Lawrenceville, GA. The Western regional winner, Jarrell Brown of Lewisville, TX, attends Dale Jackson Career Center in Lewisville. The Northeast and North Central regional winner is Mark Gilmour, who lives in Ripon, WI and attends Ripon High School. Gary Wilfong, the winning instructor, teaches at the Frederick County Career & Technology Center in Frederick, MD.
Castrol Americas, a division of BP Lubricants Americas, markets premium lubricants and business-building programs directly to independent lube operators, service providers, new car dealers and leading retailers. Our leadership brands include: Castrol(R) GTX(R) -- a premium conventional motor oil; Castrol(R) GTX High-Mileage(TM) -- designed for vehicles with over 75,000 miles; Castrol(R) GTX(R) Start Up -- formulated to provide superior wear protection during the critical start-up period; Castrol(R) SYNTEC BLEND(TM) -- with an added level of synthetic protection; Castrol(R) SYNTEC(TM) -- a full- synthetic, super-premium motor oil; as well as our range of commercial transport lubricants and our successful Super Clean(TM) line of specialty products. To find out more about Castrol products and programs, please call 1-888-CASTROL or log on to http://www.castrolusa.com/ .
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