Vandergriff speeds back into action with Speedco
Monday, 13 April 2009
Bob Vandergriff Jr. last saw action on the NHRA trail last November, at the 2008 Auto Club NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif., and the time off in the interim has been a tough pill to swallow for the popular Top Fuel owner/driver. Accustomed to going fast, the Georgia resident is never comfortable on the sidelines, but a lack of sponsorship left him parked throughout the first five races in 2009.
With the annual trip to his home track of Atlanta Dragway looming he scrambled to find a marketing partner for this weekend's Summit Racing Southern NHRA Nationals, finally landing Speedco, the only national network to specialize in quick-lube and tire service for heavy-duty trucks, as a corporate sponsor.
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The marketing agreement will include this weekend's race as well as the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil in early September.
Vandergriff is thankful for the support and believes it will provide a much-needed boost for a number of other potential sponsor programs he is currently discussing.
"Mark Clark and the team at Speedco have been longtime supporters of our racing efforts, and we're thrilled to be able to run the Speedco colors at our home track in Georgia, as well as at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis," Vandergriff said. "It's been really difficult to sit on the sidelines for the first part of the season, so I'm even more appreciative that Speedco stepped up in time for us to make our '09 debut at our home track. We're looking forward to jumping right back into the mix, and maybe we can turn some heads and have some success this weekend.
"Our long relationship with Speedco was the key to this program and it would benefit both of us if we could put a full sponsor program together and get back out on the tour, with Speedco as part of the program in an associate role. They're helping us get on the track this weekend, and hopefully we can help them by using this race to raise our profile again and put a full deal together.
"I don't think there's any substitute for being on the race track when it comes to giving a potential sponsor a taste for what we can do and what NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing is all about. You have to see it, and feel it, to believe it."
Vandergriff's former crew chief Jim Dupuy, along with a number of his former crew members, will return for both this weekend's race and the U.S. Nationals.
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