Harvick and NHRA team owner Vandergriff forming drag racing team
Quote selected text Published April 14th, 2008 in NASCAR News
NASCAR racer and Daytona 500 winner Kevin Harvick and his wife DeLana have teamed with NHRA drag racing veteran Bob Vandergriff Jr. to explore the option of fielding a Top Fuel dragster in NHRA competition. The proposed Harvick-Vandergriff Motorsports will specialize in offering its sponsors marketing opportunities in NHRA, NASCAR Sprint Cup, Craftsman Truck, and the Nationwide Series.
“I think we have a unique opportunity to provide unprecedented reach for companies looking to achieve their objectives through motorsports,” Vandergriff said. “As this deal evolves, we want to offer the companies aligned with Harvick-Vandergriff Motorsports the chance to use the best of NHRA and NASCAR through the same program. We’ll have the capabilities to provide something no other team can offer.
“I’m extremely excited about this opportunity with Kevin and his wife DeLana. Our ideas of how to market our motorsports programs and our long-term goals are the same.”
This would be an unprecedented alignment of teams in the top two motorsports sanctions in the United States. Vandergriff also believes that having a team car to run alongside his championship-contending UPS dragster would be a huge advantage.
“The response from the companies we’ve spoken to already has been tremendous,” Harvick said. “Everyone at Kevin Harvick Incorporated and Richard Childress Racing has become extremely interested with what’s happening in the drag racing world through our friendship with Bob. The more we come to understand what is happening in the NHRA series, the more attractive it’s becoming as a whole.
“It’s my belief that NHRA could provide a great marketplace for us to grow our business by providing unmatched opportunities for interested sponsors. We view this as something that would be a natural extension of our current Craftsman Truck and Nationwide Series programs. Bob’s a proven leader and innovator and DeLana and I are happy to be here as his guests. The future looks very exciting.”
Vandergriff and Harvick plan to begin assembling a race team and all of the necessary components and people within the next two months as they prepare for a 2009 debut. Announcements regarding the driver and sponsors will be forthcoming.
[NHRA]
Bookmark to:
- Harvicks shelve plans for NHRA effort
- NHRA Limits Number of Teams in Top Categories per Owner
- NHRA: Torco Racing Fuels Nationals pushed back one week due to rain
- Torco Named Title Sponsor of Virginia NHRA Event
- U.S. Tobacco Co. Renews Sponsorship of Skoal Showdown
This is really nothing more but a way to get UPS to the 31 car for next season.
Fisha695 wrote:
Interesting thought…Does that mean Burton’s sponsor is gone after this year??
Jim, the way I understand it is that unless something changes (ie - Sprint bailing out of the Cup series sponsorship), AT&T has go to after ‘08.
Fisha, that is an interesting thought… Or perhaps Kevin is thinking about expanding to a Cup team as well?
Thank you. One would think that Sprint changing from NEXTEL
would allow AT&T to stay, but I guess you have to remember its all one sided
where NASCAR is concerned.
But on a lighter note…..
I love how Kevin and Delanna are building their business, more power to them.
this is a great deal between Bob and Kevin, i hope they can swing it, they will have to use a different location because there shop isnt big enough for anything else in Kernersville.
I hope this deal turns out better than the W. Johnson- D. Cope one a few years back.