Pennzoil to be World of Outlaws' title sponsor

Pennzoil Joins World of Outlaws As Series Sponsor

NASHVILLE, TN (January 20) - Pennzoil will sponsor the 1997 season of winged sprint car racing on the legendary World of Outlaws circuit, the company and sanctioning body announced Monday. The three-year agreement was announced jointly by Ted Johnson, president of the World of Outlaws, and Thomas E. Floyd, chief marketing officer of Pennzoil Products Company, and includes exclusive title sponsorship of all 70 events across the country, corporate signage, product exclusivity and television identification, which includes 10 live events on TNN: The Nashville Network. The 20-year-old World of Outlaws circuit is the only national sprint car racing association in motorsports and is the largest sprint car racing series in the U.S. "We're thrilled to have a company so closely identified with major auto racing as our sponsor," Johnson said. "Pennzoil's in for the ride of their lives with this exciting series. The World of Outlaws is enjoying incredible growth and popularity. I'm confident that we can both benefit from the grass roots popularity of our cars and drivers and from the growth of our sport on television. Johnson also noted that the current point fund would be doubled to more than a half-million dollars in 1997. Commenting on the agreement, Floyd said the World of Outlaws is on the brink of becoming a major player in motorsports. "It's already the fifth-largest racing series in North America, and we see Pennzoil's involvement as the ideal way, through national television coverage and on-track promotion, to reach our customers," he said. "Race fans are good, loyal customers, and we like to give something back to them when we can." Concerning television involvement, David Hall, president of the Gaylord Communications Group, owner of TNN: The Nashville Network, said the timing was perfect for Pennzoil to join the World of Outlaws series, noting that 10 races will be televised by TNN Motorsports, which claimed a viewership of 6.5 million households during seven races in 1996. "Both Pennzoil and the series will increase their exposure through television this year. This form of racing is ideal for TV, captured in short track venues over time frames that are ideal for armchair fans to get involved with the action. Pennzoil will be a big-time winner, bringing World of Outlaws sprint car racing action to millions of homes across America as well as the patrons of the nation's short tracks. These fans are very loyal to the companies that support racing." The first Pennzoil race World of Outlaws series race, "A.J. Foyt's Cavalcade of Sprints, will be televised live by TNN on Friday, January 31, at 8 p.m. (EST) from Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix, AZ. World of Outlaws races are run on dirt oval short tracks from coast to coast - away from the high-profile superspeedways where stock cars and Indy cars compete, but it attracted 1,594,100 fans in 67 events in 1996. This season, the World of Outlaws has added races and expects an even larger attendance. This season now includes 70 events over 100 race dates. One of the World of Outlaws' stars is Jac Haudenschild, of Wooster, OH, who began representing Pennzoil in 1994 and was the series' leader for most of 1995 before finishing second in points to Dave Blaney or Cortland, OH. Injured and out of action for a month in 1996, he nevertheless finished in the top 10. Other widely known World of Outlaws champions are Steve Kinser of Bloomington, IN, and Sammy Swindell or Cordova, TN. In 1995, the World of Outlaws was the fifth most-often- attended motorsport in the country, and offered more than $9 million in purses and point fund awards. Boating 70 races in 26 states, the winged, 410-cubic-inch powered, 750-horsepowered, 1200-pound racing machines race at speeds of up to 160 m.p.h. Pennzoil is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Houston-based Pennzoil Company, and its motor oil has been America's number- one-selling brand for 11 consecutive years. The company has been an Indy car sponsor since 1979, when it introduced the Pennzoil Chaparral to Indianapolis. It is now the official motor oil of the Indianapolis 500, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy Racing League. In addition, Pennzoil has major sponsorships in IRL, NASCAR and NHRA, as well as the World of Outlaws. WoO