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DALLAS (September 19, 2006) -- Any baby boomer will remember the classic Texaco ad campaign from the 1960's, which featured the catchy line "You can trust your car, to the man who wears the star." More than 40 years after that jingle was etched permanently into the American consciousness, Phil Burkart will be reprising its meaning, though with a bit of a twist, when he arrives at the Texas Motorplex for this weekend's O'Reilly Fall Nationals. After all, he'll be driving a car that wears that star, a bright red Havoline star, on the sides and hood of his special edition Havoline Monte Carlo.
The star-spangled, all-American, Havoline design will now grace Burkart's car for three consecutive races, beginning in Dallas this weekend. Originally planned as a two-race promotion for Dallas and Richmond, the rescheduling of the Reading race for the weekend between those two events created a triple-play for Burkart and his Havoline Chevy, as they will now race the car at all three events.
"We've been doing Havoline cars for years, since before I was driving for Team CSK, and all of the Havoline designs have been great," Burkart said. "This car is a replay of the American flag design we did last year, and the fans really loved it. I'm sure we'll be getting a lot of attention again with this car, but there is one thing about it that's a lot better for us. Our body inventory situation last year wasn't so good. We actually had to run two different Havoline bodies at the two races we had scheduled, and neither of those bodies was in very good shape. They were both pretty much worn out, beaten up, and heavy.
"This year, we're in way better shape in terms of good bodies at the shop, so this Havoline Monte Carlo will be as fast as anything we could have on the car. It's great to create a lot of buzz when we do these special edition cars, but when you have to use an old heavy body it can really slow you down. This body is in great shape, and it's as light as any car we own. It's the best of both worlds for us, with a cool Havoline design on a fast body."
The Havoline program, coordinated through Checker, Schuck's, Kragen, is the final of four special promotions Burkart's normally blue team has presented this season. Burkart drove a K&N Filters car in Gainesville, the "Madman Murray" car in Columbus, Chicago, Memphis, and Indianapolis, and a Chevron Techron machine in Seattle and Sonoma. The popular New York driver enjoys the variation created by the program, but also misses his old reliable CSK Monte Carlo.
"I really like doing all these cars, because you get to meet new people and get those sponsors all charged up," Burkart said. "Each one of these bodies creates a new group of fans, and that's great. On the other hand, I love our blue Checker, Schuck's, Kragen car too. We were all set to run it again in Reading last week, and it was great just to see it out of the trailer and sitting there ready to go. Now, it goes back in the box and we'll run the big red Havoline star, with the American flag wrapped around it, for the next three races.
"Starting the Havoline program in Dallas is about as appropriate as it can get. Texaco was formed in Texas, and the star is as much a part of the state as anything. You've got the big star on the flag, the big star on the Cowboys' football helmets, and the big red star on our Havoline Monte Carlo. We'll fit right in, and we'll do our best to put the Havoline car right where it belongs, in the winner's circle."
Doing that would serve many purposes for Burkart and his team. They are still searching for their first win since late in the 2004 season, but have also recently reestablished themselves as a POWERade Top Ten team, after having spent nine consecutive races in the No. 11 spot. The vault back into the 10th position was created when Burkart defeated defending Funny Car champion Gary Scelzi on a hole-shot in round one at Indy. Now, Burkart aims to solidify his claim to a spot on the stage at the POWERade Awards Banquet.
"It means a lot to every guy on this team, to be in the Top Ten," Burkart said. "The only goal around here is to finish the season with both CSK cars in the Top Ten, so we have to hold up our end of the bargain while our teammates on the red side of the pit do what they have to do. In today's Funny Car environment, with the super-teams we have to fight every weekend, to have two cars in the POWERade Top Ten would be quite an accomplishment, and an honor. With all the attention on the POWERade championship, I know we've been a little off the radar, but we won't be off the screen if we come out and win a few races here. The Havoline car would look gorgeous in the winner's circle."
That it would. You can trust Burkart, the man who wears the star, to do his best to make that happen.
TRUST BURKART TO WEAR THE STAR PROUDLY IN DALLAS
DALLAS (September 19, 2006) -- Any baby boomer will remember the classic Texaco ad campaign from the 1960's, which featured the catchy line "You can trust your car, to the man who wears the star." More than 40 years after that jingle was etched permanently into the American consciousness, Phil Burkart will be reprising its meaning, though with a bit of a twist, when he arrives at the Texas Motorplex for this weekend's O'Reilly Fall Nationals. After all, he'll be driving a car that wears that star, a bright red Havoline star, on the sides and hood of his special edition Havoline Monte Carlo.
The star-spangled, all-American, Havoline design will now grace Burkart's car for three consecutive races, beginning in Dallas this weekend. Originally planned as a two-race promotion for Dallas and Richmond, the rescheduling of the Reading race for the weekend between those two events created a triple-play for Burkart and his Havoline Chevy, as they will now race the car at all three events.
"We've been doing Havoline cars for years, since before I was driving for Team CSK, and all of the Havoline designs have been great," Burkart said. "This car is a replay of the American flag design we did last year, and the fans really loved it. I'm sure we'll be getting a lot of attention again with this car, but there is one thing about it that's a lot better for us. Our body inventory situation last year wasn't so good. We actually had to run two different Havoline bodies at the two races we had scheduled, and neither of those bodies was in very good shape. They were both pretty much worn out, beaten up, and heavy.
"This year, we're in way better shape in terms of good bodies at the shop, so this Havoline Monte Carlo will be as fast as anything we could have on the car. It's great to create a lot of buzz when we do these special edition cars, but when you have to use an old heavy body it can really slow you down. This body is in great shape, and it's as light as any car we own. It's the best of both worlds for us, with a cool Havoline design on a fast body."
The Havoline program, coordinated through Checker, Schuck's, Kragen, is the final of four special promotions Burkart's normally blue team has presented this season. Burkart drove a K&N Filters car in Gainesville, the "Madman Murray" car in Columbus, Chicago, Memphis, and Indianapolis, and a Chevron Techron machine in Seattle and Sonoma. The popular New York driver enjoys the variation created by the program, but also misses his old reliable CSK Monte Carlo.
"I really like doing all these cars, because you get to meet new people and get those sponsors all charged up," Burkart said. "Each one of these bodies creates a new group of fans, and that's great. On the other hand, I love our blue Checker, Schuck's, Kragen car too. We were all set to run it again in Reading last week, and it was great just to see it out of the trailer and sitting there ready to go. Now, it goes back in the box and we'll run the big red Havoline star, with the American flag wrapped around it, for the next three races.
"Starting the Havoline program in Dallas is about as appropriate as it can get. Texaco was formed in Texas, and the star is as much a part of the state as anything. You've got the big star on the flag, the big star on the Cowboys' football helmets, and the big red star on our Havoline Monte Carlo. We'll fit right in, and we'll do our best to put the Havoline car right where it belongs, in the winner's circle."
Doing that would serve many purposes for Burkart and his team. They are still searching for their first win since late in the 2004 season, but have also recently reestablished themselves as a POWERade Top Ten team, after having spent nine consecutive races in the No. 11 spot. The vault back into the 10th position was created when Burkart defeated defending Funny Car champion Gary Scelzi on a hole-shot in round one at Indy. Now, Burkart aims to solidify his claim to a spot on the stage at the POWERade Awards Banquet.
"It means a lot to every guy on this team, to be in the Top Ten," Burkart said. "The only goal around here is to finish the season with both CSK cars in the Top Ten, so we have to hold up our end of the bargain while our teammates on the red side of the pit do what they have to do. In today's Funny Car environment, with the super-teams we have to fight every weekend, to have two cars in the POWERade Top Ten would be quite an accomplishment, and an honor. With all the attention on the POWERade championship, I know we've been a little off the radar, but we won't be off the screen if we come out and win a few races here. The Havoline car would look gorgeous in the winner's circle."
That it would. You can trust Burkart, the man who wears the star, to do his best to make that happen.
