LAS VEGAS (Oct. 29, 2007) – When motorsports and Hulk Hogan, the flamboyant professional wrestling icon and reality TV star, meet, things are bound to happen – especially when it’s at the fan-friendly world of drag racing in Las Vegas, NV. Named by ACDelco as the Grand Marshall of the 2007 ACDelco National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Las Vegas Nationals, Hogan pumped up the crowd, ensuring that Hulkamania ran wild for the last four days, on and off the track.
Continuing the automotive replacement parts leader's long-standing tradition of having race dignitaries worthy of the “Entertainment Capital of the World,” Paul Johnson, general director for General Motors Service and Parts Operations' Global Independent Aftermarket, shared, "We believe that the Hulkster's larger-than-life persona embodies two of the key elements of this weekend's event, namely the tremendous horsepower seen on the quarter-mile along with the star quality of the world famous Strip.”
At the NHRA Fan Fest held in downtown Las Vegas earlier this week – a free event to the public that kicks off the annual NHRA ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals – Hogan’s ability to impact the fans immediately was clear. Fan Fest underscores the more intimate relationship that exists between sponsors such as ACDelco, the NHRA teams, drivers and the public, wherein the fans and those involved with NHRA mix and mingle far more personally at a drag racing event, compared to other types of motorsports.
The Fremont Street Experience's Viva Vision entertained drag racing fans with a special NHRA video and light show on the 550,000-watt, 12 million-light canopy perched 90 feet above the street. All 16 drivers remaining in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship also participated in a free autograph session from 6-7 p.m., as did many drivers who are not in the points chase.
In addition, Hogan and Johnson unveiled a special paint scheme on the ACDelco Pro Stock Cobalt dragster, to commemorate Hogan’s participation this year. To view a video with Johnson’s comments on Hulk Hogan being the Grand Marshal of the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals, visit Kurt’s personal MySpace page at www.myspace.com/kurtracing.
And then there’s the racing
The unique blend that exists at NHRA drag racing venues captures and intoxicates the fans. Visual delights abound; powerful vibrations of cars that vault and rocket down Thunder Alley buffet those present in the stands of walking the pits; and the fumes of nitroglycerin, alcohol are hypnotic for everyone – from fan to racer. It’s a rush, in every sense of the word.
“Our objective is the same at every race no matter who the title sponsor is and that is to end the day with our ACDelco Cobalt in the winner's circle,” said Johnson. “However, there is no denying that we will have some extra motivation in Las Vegas this weekend. To say the least, it would be fantastic to win in front of our sponsor, showing our appreciation to all the people who support us. At press time, hopes were high for those following Johnson and the ACDelco team, after Johnson qualified for today’s elimination round by placing seventh of sixteen, but just 0.02 seconds out of first.
“The bottom line is that we're running 6.74 and the fastest cars are going 6.72, which we can deal with.” noted Johnson. “ But if we're within two hundredths, we know we can drive with them. I'll just have to get pumped up for tomorrow, which shouldn't be a problem, especially considering we'll have the Hulkster and everyone from ACDelco out here on our side.
Hogan shared that the experiences at the Strip and the preliminary round qualifying races at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Saturday have him charged-up for today’s final elimination runs on Sunday. "It's going to be an action-packed, high horsepower duel in the desert,” Hogan added, “and I want to thank the folks at ACDelco for making me a part of it. I'm really looking forward to getting out to the track and taking it all in, seeing what I can do to help our man Kurt Johnson body slam the opposition. After all, whatcha gonna do when the Hulkster, Kurt Johnson and ACDelco run wild all over you?"
‘Drive to Win Sweepstakes’ finalists announced
Prior to Sunday’s final elimination runs to determine the weekend’s champions, ACDelco announced the names of the two finalists in the company’s Drive to Win Sweepstakes. Gordon Born, who hails from Minnesota is the consumer finalist, while Jim Reiner, owner of Big Jim’s Extreme Automotive in Cedar Rapids IA is as the trade finalist. Hogan presented each finalist with a key fob, knowing that only one of them would start the grand prize , a 2007 Cobalt SS equipped with Genuine Chevrolet Accessories. With the Hulkster watching the matchup, it was Gordon Born who drove away with the new Cobalt SS.
Tech support
Two ACDelco technicians employed by independent service centers that participate in ACDelco's Total Service Support (TSS) Program – Mike Rumpel of Sun Valley Automotive and Chris Balicki of Dolar’s Automotive – were also selected to attend the Las Vegas NHRA Nationals as "Honorary Pit Crew" members. The opportunity enabled them to share the experience of working with full time pit crew members on the ACDelco-sponsored driver Kurt Johnson’s team during the weekend.
