Two NHRA victories by Cruz Pedregon in the Snap-on Funny Car, a Nationwide season championship and 24 combined wins by Snap-on drivers in four different race series highlighted a very successful 2010 Snap-on racing season.
“What a great year for Snap-on sponsored drivers and teams,” said Alicia Smales, vice president of marketing for Snap-on Tools. “We had winners in all of the series we sponsor and Cruz and the Snap-on Funny Car had a great second half of the season, winning two races. However, what was most important was that our racing sponsorships served as a great vehicle to help our franchisees reach their customers. They use racing as a way to entertain their customers and inform them of all the great new things happening at Snap-on in a fun and exciting environment.”
In 2010, Snap-on’s enhanced sponsorship of Cruz Pedregon and the Snap-on Funny Car paid great dividends both on and off the track. In addition to his two funny car wins, Pedregon also turned out to be a big hit with Snap-on franchisees and customers off the track. During every race week of the 2010 season, Pedregon would hop in a Snap-on truck and ride with a franchisee to meet and greet Snap-on customers. In addition to Cruz, Snap-on also sponsored NHRA drivers Tony Pedregon, Jeg Coughlin and Steve Johnson in 2010.
“Our franchisees and customers loved getting the chance to interact with Cruz, especially in their own shops,” said Smales. “They would be really surprised when Cruz pulled up to their shop riding shotgun in a Snap-on truck.”
Another highlight in 2010 for the Snap-on racing team was the Nationwide season championship for Brad Keselowski and Penske Racing. It was the first NASCAR championship for Roger Penske and the Penske racing team. Snap-on has been associated with Penske Racing for 29 years and also sponsors Penske teams in the Sprint Cup and IRL.
Over the past year, Snap-on continued its sponsorship of the Formula Drift series and the Goodguys Car Show Series. Serving as the “Official Tool” of Formula Drift, Snap-on was on-site at all race venues providing an interactive opportunity to see firsthand the latest Snap-on tools and equipment. Snap-on served as the “Official Tool” of Goodguys and, as with Drift, was on-site at all Goodguys Car Shows providing its customers a chance to experience the latest productivity solutions and innovations from Snap-on. Plus, the Snap-on Tools NO COMPROMISE TOUR™ made stops at select Goodguys Car Show events throughout the year.
“We had great success with our racing program in 2010 and we look forward to building on that success again next year,” said Smales. “We have great things planned for 2011 that we know our franchisees and customers will be excited about.”
To learn more about Snap-on tools and its racing program, visit www.snapon.com/racing.
