Austin Ad Consultant Picked for Dunlop Drivers Cup

AKRON, Ohio, Sept. 5 -- An Austin, Texas, advertising consultant has been selected to participate in the Dunlop Drivers Cup driving challenge.

C.J. Salgado, 28, of Pflugerville, Texas, will be competing against 11 other amateur drivers at the U.S. Regional Qualifier in Danville, Va., on Sept. 11-15. She recently has worked on Hispanic advertising.

Salgado said the Virginia International Raceway event helps fulfill her "serious craving for speed and other heart-racing activities. It started with a simple roller-coaster ride, which led to flying down steep grades on roller blades as a young girl."

A year ago, she could have easily turned from Speed Racer to Easy Rider. She now spends her free time riding a Suzuki SV650 through the hill country. Four weeks after receiving her motorcycle license, she made a 900-mile back- road roundtrip to the Oklahoma border.

Salgado and an Escondido, Calif., woman will be competing with 10 men. Both are self-described tomboys, and they say they're up to the task.

Salgado said she realizes Dunlop Drivers Cup is completely different from any other type of driving challenge. A unique competition, it includes on- track racing, autocross, off-road sport-utility, off-road all-terrain vehicle and motocross events to test the skills of hard-core driving enthusiasts.

Two two-driver teams from the three-day U.S. Regional Qualifier will represent Dunlop USA at the world Drivers Cup next year. The 10-day excursion is scheduled to travel through six European countries -- with driving events in each nation -- and finish on the African continent.

Janice Consolacion, brand planning manager for Dunlop in North America, said Cup organizers were impressed by Salgado's passion for the road. "C.J.'s sense of freedom while riding her Suzuki matches Dunlop's DNA. Her motorcycle is an extension of who she is."

Even as a child, Salgado took her dolls, chopped their hair, set them in big trucks and sent them off-road. "My husband loves that we enjoy the same sports, deep-sea fishing and off-roading. We both go crazy for lures," she said.

The consultant said Drivers Cup is another milestone in her lifelong love of speed. "I hope one day to ride to the Florida Keys from Austin, so I guess this is just practice."

European Dunlop officials started Drivers Cup in 1998 to showcase Dunlop's racing heritage and its broad range of passenger, truck, motorcycle and all- terrain-vehicle tire lines. Dunlop SP Sport Maxx ultra-performance tires and Mud Rover off-road tires will be featured in the competition.

Dunlop is a global tire brand with an excellent reputation among performance car enthusiasts. Well known for its prestigious original- equipment fitments and sports car racing heritage, Dunlop is also a key supplier to sport compact enthusiasts featuring "tuner" tire sizes and race series sponsorships.

Salgado said she applied to participate in Drivers Cup after watching it on MotorWeek TV.

Applications are being accepted now for those interested in competing in the 2007 Dunlop Drivers Cup U.S. Regionals. To apply, go to http://www.dunloptires.com/.