08-29-05

SNAP-ON AND TOP STARS KARTERS ON DISPLAY TO MEDIA AT INFINEON RACEWAY IRL EVENT

Seattle, Washington — The Snap-on Stars of Karting presented by the Indy Racing League took full advantage of its relationship with its presenting sponsor by holding two media events at this weekend’s Indy Racing League event at Infineon Raceway to expose series developments to a broader audience.  On Saturday, series co-owner Bobby Rahal and the Indy Racing League’s Senior Vice President of Business Affairs Ken Ungar made a formal announcement to the media in the Infineon Raceway Winner’s Circle that series title sponsor Snap-on had extended their relationship with the series for an additional five seasons.  “This is a huge development for our series, we’ve been able to bring karting to a level never before seen in North America and Snap-on has been a big part of that,” said Rahal.  Also present at the media gathering were Bobby Wilson, 2003 Snap-on Stars of Karting series champion who is now racing in the Menards Infiniti Pro series, and Jason Bowles, one of the top shifter kart racers in the Snap-on Stars of Karting Presented by the IRL.  “I’m extremely proud to have been able to come out of the Snap-on Stars of Karting, the base they provided me to move up the ladder in open wheel racing is something I will always be grateful for,” said Wilson.

On Friday series founder Bryan Herta hosted a media event in which he toured top Snap-on Stars karters Alex Speed, Gary Carlton, Ron White, Phil Giebler, and Jason Bowles around his XM Satellite Radio IRL machine and introduced the karters to the gathered media.  “It was really a fun being able to come in here and be treated so well by everyone.  I can’t thank Bryan and the guys at Andretti-Green enough, and I can’t wait to watch the race on Sunday,” said Speed.

The weekend also included significant promotion for the upcoming Bay Area Mini Dealers Grand Prix event on the weekend of September 9-11 to be held at Infineon Raceway’s karting circuit.  The race will serve as the final round in the West Division of the Snap-on Stars of Karting presented by the IRL.  Russell Racing, who manages the Infineon Raceway karting track, and KLS Racing, a top Snap-on Stars series team both had promotional booths in the paddock area.  The Russell booth included an autograph session for fans with karters Bowles, Carlton, and Speed that ran in conjunction with the autograph session held with the Indy Racing League drivers.  

The upcoming Bay Area MINI Dealers Grand Prix will allow spectators to test drive MINI Coopers around the karting circuit at Infineon Raceway, under the supervision of a professional driving instructor.  The test drive sessions will take place at one-hour periods during the lunch break and end of day activities on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of the race weekend.

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