Bridgestone
reaffirms Champ Car commitment sign contract
extension
April 2, 2004
The name of the Bridgestone Presents
The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford can not be said without mentioning
the fabled tire manufacturer, and rightly so, as the Champ Car World Series
could not provide one of the truest tests in all of motorsport without the
strong support of Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC (BFNT).
As they have been for the last two seasons, Bridgestone Potenza racing tires are
standard equipment on each one of the 750hp turbocharged Champ Cars, but the
commitment to the series goes far beyond supplying a full field with tires for
every practice, qualifying, testing and race session during the 2004 season.
BFNT will again be a prominent part of the Champ Car World Series, with its
flagship brand returning as presenting sponsor of the Bridgestone Presents The
Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford. The cutting-edge technology of Champ
Cars, and the fact that the series delivers brand awareness to major markets
around the world with its successful street events, gives the Bridgestone brand
one of the top marketing platforms in all of motorsports.
“We are delighted to formalize the extension of its partnership with Champ Car
for the 2004 season,” said Al Speyer, Executive Motorsports Director for BFNT.
“The Champ Car World Series allows us to showcase the superior performance of
the Bridgestone Potenza race tires in this most demanding and
technologically-advanced public arena. With the brand returning as presenting
sponsor of the series, we are conveying that message to an important global
audience.”
The Bridgestone brand will continue to appear on nearly every aspect of the
Champ Car World Series, including being a prominent part of the series logo. The
Bridgestone logo will be featured on the cars, driver, team and series official
uniforms as well as transporters. Bridgestone branding will also appear
prominently in Champ Car broadcasts with product-based features and commercial
spots. In addition to every Champ Car rolling on Bridgestone Potenzas, all pace
cars in the Fast Lap program, every series transporter and each of the
quick-response vehicles in the Champ Car Safety Team will be equipped with
Bridgestone tires.
“We value our relationship with BFNT and the Bridgestone brand very highly and
are very pleased to have them as part of the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car
World Series Powered by Ford. Strong presenting sponsors such as BFNT and Ford
Motor Company are major factors in the success of our series,” said Champ Car
World Series President Dick Eidswick. “BFNT performed without equal both on and
off the track last year and we anticipate a similar performance in 2004.”
Bridgestone tires operated beautifully over the 2003 Champ Car campaign, logging
more than 190,000 miles of race-weekend duty without a single racing incident.
The mélange of track surfaces unique to Champ Car provides a stern test for a
race tire, but the Bridgestone Potenzas held up with no trouble.
“The Bridgestone name speaks for itself. They’re the greatest motorsports tire
manufacturer in the world,” said Herdez Competition driver Ryan Hunter-Reay.
“I’ve been racing on Bridgestone tires since I was 11, and in my rookie season
in Champ Car I got first-hand experience with the unmatched reliability of the
Bridgestone Potenzas in conquering every type of track surface thrown at us in
the Champ Car World Series. There are no other tires like Bridgestone in the
world.”
BFNT will promote the series with select in-market campaigns involving its
extensive national network of company-owned and dealer retail outlets. This
initiative includes plans for race-specific advertising, “free Friday” ticket
distribution, driver appearances at retail outlets and more.
The agreement calls for the Bridgestone brand to serve as Official Tire of the
Champ Car World Series, as well as Official Tire for three specific events
including Cleveland and Denver. BFNT has previous separate agreements to serve
in similar capacities at Long Beach and Milwaukee, meaning the brand will serve
as the Official Tire at no fewer than five races in 2004.
“The Champ Car World Series competes in a number of markets very important to
the Bridgestone brand,” said Speyer. “We recognize and respect the tremendously
loyal support from the fan base in those markets. Those markets and fans are
particularly well suited to the fine Bridgestone brand and its high-performance
consumer products. By partnering with Champ Car, we’re looking to solidify that
loyalty and support for both.”
Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC, is a subsidiary of Bridgestone
Americas Holding, Inc., whose parent company, Bridgestone Corporation, is the
world’s largest tire and rubber company. BFNT develops, manufactures and markets
Bridgestone, Firestone, Dayton and private and associate brand tires. The
company is focused on wholesale and original equipment markets, supplying
passenger, light truck, commercial vehicle, off-road, agricultural and other
tires to its customers in North America. For more information on Bridgestone
tires, go to www.bridgestonetire.com.
Champ Car World Series, LLC owns, operates and markets the 2004 Bridgestone
Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford. The top open-wheel racing
series in North America features drivers such as Paul Tracy, Michel Jourdain
Jr., Bruno Junqueira and Ryan Hunter-Reay in a season-long quest for the
Vanderbilt Cup. Champ Cars are thoroughbred racing machines that reach speeds in
excess of 200 miles per hour, showcasing the technical expertise of
manufacturers such as Ford Motor Company, Lola Cars, Reynard Motorsport and
Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC. The 16-race 2004 Bridgestone
Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford will be broadcast by
television partners SpikeTV and HDNet. Champ Car also owns and operates its top
development series, the Toyota Atlantic Championship. Learn more about Champ
Car's open-wheel racing series at www.champcarworldseries.com..
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