FireIce drag racer Payne looking for two Wally trophies in Seattle

SEATTLE (July 17) -- When the 2009 drag racing schedule was released, world champion driver Jay Payne was going to forgo the long journey up the west coast from his Los Angeles-area home and skip this weekend's Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways. As it turns out, a last-minute change of plans for the FireIce-sponsored professional may by the turning point of his season.

In search of extra championship points, Payne decided to load up his FireIce Top Alcohol Funny Car and compete in last-weekend's Division 6 race in Woodburn, Ore., and this weekend's Northwest Nationals. So far, things are going quite well for Payne as he raced to the final of the Woodburn race before rain postponed the trophy round to this weekend's event in Seattle.

Suddenly, Payne has a chance to win two trophies in 24 hours time.

"I'm so glad we made this trip," said Payne, who will race Brian Thiel for the Woodburn title during Saturday's qualifying action at Pacific Raceways. "Things are going just about perfect so far. We've got Brian covered performance-wise, or at least we did a week ago, so hopefully we can get that win. Then it would be super cool to turn around and have a big Sunday here. This could really change things for us and this FireIce team."

A national champion in 1995 with 11 divisional crowns to his credit, including the last five Southeast Division titles in a row, Payne's 36 national event victories ranks him 24th on NHRA's all-time list, which dates back to 1951.

Already a fan favorite, Payne picked up a boisterous fan base of 1.1 million firefighters earlier this season when he inked a sponsorship deal with FireIce. FireIce is a non-toxic, environmentally friendly fire suppression gel that firefighters add to water in pumper trucks, helicopters, fire planes, and handheld extinguishers to help extinguish fires drastically quicker than water alone.

Aside from sponsoring Payne's racecar and saluting firefighters through its association with Payne, FireIce, a subsidiary of GelTech, a publically traded corporation (OTCBB: GLTC), has committed to making sizable donations to the Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the Federation of Burn Foundations, who aid firefighters in need.

"The Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the Federation of Burn Foundations do a remarkable job of taking care of firefighters in need so we fully support their efforts," said GelTech CEO Michael Cordani. "FireIce is a product that greatly enhances the safety of our firefighters, which is something that's very important to us."

Payne already has met several Seattle-area firefighters, who are all excited about his visit to the Emerald City.

"The Seattle Fire Department has been around since 1894," Payne said. "The history of the department is really something. They now have around 1,100 members and they cover a huge amount of ground. I'm just in awe of these guys.

"Hopefully, we can show them a couple of winner's circle celebrations!"

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Contact: Geiger Media at 281-354-5769 or rob@go2geiger.com.

Please visit www.FireIce.com.

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