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12/13/2011 |
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WHEN YOU HAVE RACING IN YOUR BLOOD
The Dreams of Boys Become the Life’s of Men
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Denise DuPont |
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As the 2011 race season comes to an end we take the
time to reflect on the year and give thanks for
another year of racing. Sponsors are an important
part of racing and Whelen Engineering has played a
key role as the Official Series Sponsor for the
Whelen Modified Tour, Whelen Southern Modified Tour
and Whelen All-American Series. Phil Kurze, Whelen
Engineering Vice President of Motorsports has worked
closely with NASCAR to grow the sports fan base at
both Home Tracks and Touring levels.
At the NASCAR banquet in Charlotte, NC, I had an
opportunity to speak to Kurze to get his feedback,
now the 2011 racing season is in the books. “It was
a great season. The Modified Tour event came down to
the very end. I was trying to keep track whether it
was going to be Ron Silk or Todd Szegedy with the
crashes and trying to figure out what was going on.
And that is really what it really should be – that
exciting. That is what makes it exciting. That is
what puts people in the grandstands.”
Driver autograph sessions have become an integral
part of every race bringing fans and drivers face to
face while they share a signature and a special
moment. “Our autograph sessions I am really happy
with because all of our drivers participate in them
and the drivers are connecting with the fans,” said
Kurze. “They are meeting them eye to eye.”
Most of us in racing in the racing community have at
least one autograph, picture or special moment in
our lifetime. Kurze as part of the racing family has
his own special memory: “As a young boy in 1954 when
I was five years old I went to the Waterford
Speedbowl and I met my favorite driver of the time,
Wild Bill Slater. And I have never been the same
since. I think that if we make that kind of
connection with the fans we are going to run into
the same situation and that is what makes your
promoters want the series because the fans are
demanding it. So as race promoters we have to make
that connection with the fans.”
This year the NWMT crossed over the borders into
Canada for the first time. It was a new experience
for races teams as the Tour fulfilled one of the
wishes of Kurze to have the NWMT share the magic. “I
enjoyed going to Canada for the first time. I was
one of the motivators behind that because Canada is
our number two marketplace after the Unites States.
I wanted to show our Tour to the Canadian audience.”
Kurze summarized the 2011 year and what the Modified
Tour is made up of:
“Overall I thought that it was a great season. We
have a great mixture of young and old people. And
you never know. When you go to a Modified Tour race
and a Southern Modified Tour race there are over a
half dozen drivers that can really be the winner. So
you really do not know what is going to happen until
the last lap of the race as far as what is going to
happen.“ |
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Source: Denise DuPont / TheChromeHorn.com
Posted: December
13, 2011 |
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