NHRA: Auto Ventshade Presents Cool Move of the Race Award
28 January 1999
GLENDORA, Calif. -- NHRA professional category competitors who perform the coolest under pressure during 1999NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series events will be eligible for $55,000 in bonus money offered by Auto Ventshade Company's Cool Stuff Move of the Race Award, NHRA Vice President of Sales Steve Johnson announced.
A $2,500 prize will be awarded to the professional category driver who is named the Cool Stuff Move of the Race Award winner at each NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series event. The award program will begin at the 39th annual AutoZone Winternationals, Feb. 4-7 at Pomona Raceway, Pomona, Calif. "We are extremely excited about this newest element to our very successful sponsorship and marketing relationship with the National Hot Rod Association," said Stan Scarborough, vice president of marketing and sales for Auto Ventshade Company.
"The Auto Ventshade Company Cool Move of the Race Award should significantly elevate the awareness of our company and products in front of the drag racing community. It will certainly bring to light many of the behind-the-scene events and performances that often go unrewarded in the highly competitive world of NHRA drag racing. We hope that it will create an award that everyone will consider to be special."
Not only will on-track performance be evaluated in determining the Cool Stuff Move of the Race winner, but also the driver's ability to do something out of the ordinary during the heat of competition. The award will not necessarily go to a winning driver.
Judging for the Cool Stuff Move of the Race Award is simple. Three veteran members of the NHRA Safety Safari will be the primary judges for the award. In addition, fans attending NHRA events will have the opportunity to participate in the judging by casting a vote at the Auto Ventshade Company's display booth located in the NHRA Manufacturers Midway. Each fan can cast a vote for the driver he or she thinks made the coolest move during the event.
By voting for the Cool Stuff Move of the Race Award, fans can qualify to win additional prizes offered by Auto Ventshade Company at each NHRA event. One fan's ballot will be selected by random drawing following each event from all the votes cast for the NHRA professional competitor who actually wins the Cool Stuff Move of the Race Award, qualifying the fan for additional prizes. Each of the 22 individual fan winners will receive a Ventvisor and Bugflector for a vehicle of their choice, an Auto Ventshade Company hat and T-shirt, and will automatically become eligible for the Grand Prize drawing to be held at the end of the 1999 season.
The grand prize will consist of an all-expense paid trip for two to the 2000 NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway. The package will include round-trip coach airfare, hotel accommodations for three nights, ground transportation, reserved seating for Saturday and Sunday, $250 in spending money and dinner one night with the Auto Ventshade Companys sponsored drivers.
"It's great to see a program that rewards the skills and abilities of our competitors," said Johnson. "We feel this is going to be a great program for the Auto Ventshade Company. It should gain them a lot of exposure because the fans will be very involved in the program. It will obviously be very popular with our racers. Our number one goal is to help Auto Ventshade increase their sales and gain distribution and we think this unique program will become a great part of the NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series."
In addition to the Cool Stuff Move of the Race Award, Auto Ventshade Company also provides associate sponsorship for NHRA Top Fuel standout Joe Amato and Funny Car competitor and team owner Chuck Etchells.
The Auto Ventshade Company, based in Lawrenceville, Ga., produces a popular line of custom accessories for cars, trucks, vans and sport utility vehicles.