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MARTIN, Mich. (February 27, 2007) – Drag racing entrepreneur Evan Knoll’s expanding influence took a new turn with the announcement this week of a naming rights agreement that will transform US 131 Motorsports Park into Knoll Gas Motorsports Park at US 131. The facility is home to an IHRA Nitro Jam™ Drag Racing Series event, the Torco Racing Fuels Northern Nationals, August 3 – 5.
Knoll, whose holdings include Knoll Gas, Torco Racing Fuels, Seelye Wright Automotive Group, Skull Shine, Accelerator and Skull Gear, works out of corporate offices in nearby Decatur, Mich., a 45-minute drive from the track.
“It made sense to put our name on our home track,” Knoll said. “It’s a great place to spotlight our complete product line and showcase our drivers and teams.”
Track General Manager Jason Peterson announced the five-year pact, the result of months of negotiations with Knoll and CFO Latrell Preston. Financial terms of the agreement were not revealed.
“Naturally, we’re very excited,” Peterson said. “This is win-win deal. We already had a great relationship with Evan Knoll through his sponsorship of the Torco Racing Fuels Northern Nationals, but this takes it to another level.”
The Torco Northern Nationals is one of the 12 races comprising the Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series. It will be contested this year August 3 – 5. Torco has been the track’s “Official Racing Fuel” for the last 10 seasons.
Among the drivers sponsored by Torco, or one of Knoll’s other properties, are Dale Creasy Jr., and Mike Ashley in Funny Car, J.R. Todd, Melanie Troxel, Doug Foley, Clay Millican and Scotty Cannon in Top Fuel and Dave Connolly in Pro Stock among a host of others.
“Everyone associated with US 131 will benefit from this terrific partnership,” said Stephanie Peterson, the track’s Marketing and Public Relations Director. “Fans, sponsors, racers, media and local tourism can expect to see a major Torco presence at each of our three biggest events. Look forward to seeing the Evan Knoll-sponsored Skull Shine Top Fuel dragster driven by Winternationals winner J.R. Todd at our Torco Northern Nationals. We can’t wait to expose all the product lines, from Skull Gear to Accelerator to Skull Shine, to our fans and racers.”
In addition to the Torco Northern Nationals, the track’s major events include the National City Thunder Nationals, contested this year on May 12, and the Funny Car Nationals, scheduled September 15.
Knoll Gas Motorsports Park at US 131 is located at 1249 12th Street, Martin, Michigan 49070. For more information, contact the track at (269) 672-7800 or Untitled Document.
About IHRA
Headquartered in Norwalk, Ohio, the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA), a division of Live Nation, promotes professional, semi-professional and local level racing opportunities for drivers at all levels. The $16.5 million Nitro Jam™ Drag Racing Series is a 12-event North American professional drag racing circuit. In 2007, the series will be comprised of nine events in major cities throughout the United States and three in Canada. The Summit Racing Equipment Pro-Am Championship presented by Mr. Gasket consists of competition at national events and 40 events in six regional divisions, while IHRA’s Summit SuperSeries is conducted nearly every weekend at over 70 IHRA-sanctioned tracks. Providing a safe environment to develop future stars, IHRA offers the Junior Dragster Racing Series for youths ages 8-17. Stand-alone events include Live Nation’s entertainment-filled “Thunder Jam” shows and the street legal racing and lifestyle event series Kumho Street Warriorz presented by Hooters. More information can be found at IHRA.com - Homepage Of IHRA Motorsports - A Division Of Live Nation.
About Live Nation
Live Nation is the world’s leading live music company, annually connecting more than 67 million fans with their favorite performers at over 33,000 events. We are the largest producer of live concerts in the world, the second-largest venue management company and have a rapidly growing online presence. Live Nation creates superior experiences for artists and fans, regularly producing tours for the biggest superstars in the business, including The Rolling Stones, Barbra Streisand, Madonna, U2 and Coldplay. Globally, we own, operate and/or have booking rights for more than 170 venues, including House of Blues-branded music venues and prestigious locations such as San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium, Nikon at Jones Beach in New York and London’s Hammersmith Apollo and Wembley Arena. Live Nation’s websites collectively are the second most popular entertainment event websites in the United States, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Live Nation is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol “LYV.” For more information regarding concerts near you, Live Nation and its businesses, please visit our website at Live Nation | Find Concert Tickets, Tour Dates, Seating Charts & Venue Schedules with the World's Largest Concert Search Engine.
KNOLL PUTS HIS NAME ON HIS HOME TRACK IN NAMING RIGHTS AGREEMENT
MARTIN, Mich. (February 27, 2007) – Drag racing entrepreneur Evan Knoll’s expanding influence took a new turn with the announcement this week of a naming rights agreement that will transform US 131 Motorsports Park into Knoll Gas Motorsports Park at US 131. The facility is home to an IHRA Nitro Jam™ Drag Racing Series event, the Torco Racing Fuels Northern Nationals, August 3 – 5.
Knoll, whose holdings include Knoll Gas, Torco Racing Fuels, Seelye Wright Automotive Group, Skull Shine, Accelerator and Skull Gear, works out of corporate offices in nearby Decatur, Mich., a 45-minute drive from the track.
“It made sense to put our name on our home track,” Knoll said. “It’s a great place to spotlight our complete product line and showcase our drivers and teams.”
Track General Manager Jason Peterson announced the five-year pact, the result of months of negotiations with Knoll and CFO Latrell Preston. Financial terms of the agreement were not revealed.
“Naturally, we’re very excited,” Peterson said. “This is win-win deal. We already had a great relationship with Evan Knoll through his sponsorship of the Torco Racing Fuels Northern Nationals, but this takes it to another level.”
The Torco Northern Nationals is one of the 12 races comprising the Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series. It will be contested this year August 3 – 5. Torco has been the track’s “Official Racing Fuel” for the last 10 seasons.
Among the drivers sponsored by Torco, or one of Knoll’s other properties, are Dale Creasy Jr., and Mike Ashley in Funny Car, J.R. Todd, Melanie Troxel, Doug Foley, Clay Millican and Scotty Cannon in Top Fuel and Dave Connolly in Pro Stock among a host of others.
“Everyone associated with US 131 will benefit from this terrific partnership,” said Stephanie Peterson, the track’s Marketing and Public Relations Director. “Fans, sponsors, racers, media and local tourism can expect to see a major Torco presence at each of our three biggest events. Look forward to seeing the Evan Knoll-sponsored Skull Shine Top Fuel dragster driven by Winternationals winner J.R. Todd at our Torco Northern Nationals. We can’t wait to expose all the product lines, from Skull Gear to Accelerator to Skull Shine, to our fans and racers.”
In addition to the Torco Northern Nationals, the track’s major events include the National City Thunder Nationals, contested this year on May 12, and the Funny Car Nationals, scheduled September 15.
Knoll Gas Motorsports Park at US 131 is located at 1249 12th Street, Martin, Michigan 49070. For more information, contact the track at (269) 672-7800 or Untitled Document.
About IHRA
Headquartered in Norwalk, Ohio, the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA), a division of Live Nation, promotes professional, semi-professional and local level racing opportunities for drivers at all levels. The $16.5 million Nitro Jam™ Drag Racing Series is a 12-event North American professional drag racing circuit. In 2007, the series will be comprised of nine events in major cities throughout the United States and three in Canada. The Summit Racing Equipment Pro-Am Championship presented by Mr. Gasket consists of competition at national events and 40 events in six regional divisions, while IHRA’s Summit SuperSeries is conducted nearly every weekend at over 70 IHRA-sanctioned tracks. Providing a safe environment to develop future stars, IHRA offers the Junior Dragster Racing Series for youths ages 8-17. Stand-alone events include Live Nation’s entertainment-filled “Thunder Jam” shows and the street legal racing and lifestyle event series Kumho Street Warriorz presented by Hooters. More information can be found at IHRA.com - Homepage Of IHRA Motorsports - A Division Of Live Nation.
About Live Nation
Live Nation is the world’s leading live music company, annually connecting more than 67 million fans with their favorite performers at over 33,000 events. We are the largest producer of live concerts in the world, the second-largest venue management company and have a rapidly growing online presence. Live Nation creates superior experiences for artists and fans, regularly producing tours for the biggest superstars in the business, including The Rolling Stones, Barbra Streisand, Madonna, U2 and Coldplay. Globally, we own, operate and/or have booking rights for more than 170 venues, including House of Blues-branded music venues and prestigious locations such as San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium, Nikon at Jones Beach in New York and London’s Hammersmith Apollo and Wembley Arena. Live Nation’s websites collectively are the second most popular entertainment event websites in the United States, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Live Nation is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol “LYV.” For more information regarding concerts near you, Live Nation and its businesses, please visit our website at Live Nation | Find Concert Tickets, Tour Dates, Seating Charts & Venue Schedules with the World's Largest Concert Search Engine.
