Officials from NHRA announced today that Technicoat, a West Coast leader in waterproofing and shot-blasting services, will sponsor the NHRA Top Fuel Shootout in 2007.

Officials from NHRA announced today that Technicoat, a West Coast leader in waterproofing and shot-blasting services, will sponsor the NHRA Top Fuel Shootout in 2007.

The Technicoat Top Fuel Shootout is a popular race-within-a-race bonus event that has thrilled fans and competitors alike for the last 23 years, making it one of the longest standing specialty programs in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.
           
The lucrative “all-star race-within-a-race,” which returns to its original format, showcases eight of the best-performing Top Fuel teams in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, as determined over 23-races and will be contested during qualifying at the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals, at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Oct. 27. 

The eight drivers who earn a starting position in the Technicoat Top Fuel Shootout will compete for a purse of $147,000, with the winner taking home a check for $100,000.   In addition to the winner's share, the Shootout runner-up will earn $15,000. The two semifinalists will earn $6,000 each and the four first-round finishers, $5,000 apiece.

“Technicoat is thrilled to have this opportunity to sponsor the Top Fuel Shootout, and get our brand name out there,” said Bob Coffman, president, Technicoat. “We’ve been around the sport for a while now through the association with our NHRA family, Kalitta Motorsports and Ken Black Racing, and we feel that this is an excellent platform to extend our commitment to the sport. We’re excited about working with NHRA and look forward to a mutually rewarding relationship and having a lot of fun in the process.”

Said his longtime business partner Glenn Williams: “We are proud to be able to step up and sponsor the Top Fuel Shootout. It’s a great opportunity for our company and will give us a chance to release a new product in the near future. Our loyalty is with drag racing and in true cowboy fashion, we feel like we are great friends with all of the teams in the nitro pits and this is our way of saying thanks and to ‘Cowboy-Up’ for that $100,000 check.”
In addition, Technicoat will award $92,000 in bonuses to low qualifiers throughout the Shootout series, pushing the total purse for the entire program to $239,000.  The No. 1 qualifier in Top Fuel will earn $4,000, as part of the Technicoat NHRA Top Fuel Low Qualifier Award, at each NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event leading up to the Technicoat Top Fuel Shootout.

This is Technicoat’s first sponsorship with NHRA, but it increases the company’s involvement with the NHRA POWERade Series. Technicoat is currently an associate sponsor for all Kalitta Motorsports and KB Racing teams.
“We are pleased to welcome a progressive company like Technicoat into the sport of NHRA POWERade Drag Racing as sponsor of one of the highest profile events within the series,” said Gary Darcy, senior vice president of sales and marketing, NHRA.  “With their company’s support, the Technicoat Top Fuel Shootout will be one of the most exciting bonus events of the season, featuring the best Top Fuel teams in the world battling to win $100,000.”
           
The Technicoat Top Fuel Shootout has been contested annually since 1985. Past winners include Joe Amato, Don Garlits, Kenny Bernstein, Shelly Anderson, Scott Kalitta, Gary Scelzi, and Larry Dixon.  Doug Kalitta is the defending Technicoat Top Fuel Shootout winner, powering past Rod Fuller for his third victory in the program.
With offices in Las Vegas and Southern California, Technicoat is a firm that specializes in high tech performance coatings, wearing surfaces for both pedestrian traffic and vehicular traffic as well as new and existing roofs. Technicoat also specializes in the application of below grade wall waterproofing designed to prohibit water intrusion in lower levels.