NHRA News: A magical day for NHRA and its fans (12/04/2001)

A magical day for NHRA and its fans

By Phil Burgess, NHRA.com
Photos by Auto Imagery
12/04/2001

They call Disneyland "The Happiest Place on Earth," but for NHRA fans on Monday, Dec. 3, that title went to a place just across the street, at the ESPNZone at Downtown Disney in Anaheim, Calif., where, in the shadow of The Magic Kingdom, two American institutions, the NHRA and Coca-Cola, made a little magic of their own.

Before a packed house that included more than 100 NHRA employees and dozens of stars of the sport, NHRA President Tom Compton, along with Sandy Douglas, president of the North American Division of The Coca-Cola Company, and Rohan Oza, Senior Brand Manager for POWERade, officially announced the creation of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, uniting two fast-rising powerhouses of the sporting world in an exciting five-year contract that will elevate the stature of both groups.

NHRA President Tom Compton, third from left, is flanked by Sandy Douglas, left, president of the North American Division of The Coca-Cola Company, and Rohan Oza, Senior Brand Manager for POWERade presenting the official series logo of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. They were joined by ESPN's Burke Magnus, far left, NHRA founder Wally Parks, NHRA Board Chairman Dallas Gardner, and NHRA board member Dick Wells.

"No more speculation, no more questions," said Compton jubilantly, as, amid a shower of blue and white confetti, he unveiled the new series logo after months of rumors and conjecture within the industry about which company would become NHRA's new series partner. Compton called the occasion "one of the, if not the, most important days in NHRA history.

"When we embarked on a search for a new series sponsor, we outlined a couple of priorities we thought we extremely important to the NHRA," he explained. "First and foremost, was a company and a product that appealed to a broad spectrum of the American public. Next was focus. We wanted to be partners with a company that wanted to focus on its association with the National Hot Rod Association. We didn't just want it to be a sign, we wanted it to be a partner who would activate the marketplace, not just at trackside. We wanted to be an integral part of their overall marketing campaign. Credibility was very important; so was name recognition. But most important was a longterm agreement, because we wanted a true partnership.

"Today, I am extremely pleased to announce that we met every single one of those objectives, and many, many more. This deal is so fantastic for our sport and everyone in this room should be very pleased."

As the official series logo was unveiled, servers from the ESPNZone handed out samples of POWERade to attendees, who quickly twisted opened their bottles to join in a hearty toast to the new alliance.

Compton and Douglas inked the final formal agreement just prior to the press conference on a five-year agreement that will greatly benefit both companies.

Compton added that NHRA will be "an extremely important part of POWERade's overall marketing campaign" and that the NHRA will have the full support of The Coca-Cola Company. POWERade also made a major commitment to support NHRA's television presence on ESPN and a staggering 100 percent increase in the payout to the 2002 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series champions in Top Fuel and Funny Car, elevating that reward from $200,000 to a whopping $400,000, as well as significant increases in Pro Stock and Pro Stock Bike, and throughout the top 10 finishers. Furthermore, top racers in four Professional categories of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series will compete for additional bonuses of $1,185,000 in 2002 through the POWERade Top 10 program, which allows fans to follow POWERade championship contenders as they pursue their respective titles.

In addition to the lucrative five-year series sponsorship, POWERade also is the new official sports drink of NHRA, Coca-Cola Classic the official soft drink of NHRA, and DASANI the official bottled water of NHRA.

"Everyone knows that NHRA fans are the most loyal sports fans in the world," Compton added. "They will drink POWERade, they will support POWERade, and they will come out next season to see the 2002 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series."

"Wow, what day for us at The Coca-Cola Company," exclaimed Douglas. "What a day for Coca-Cola Enterprises and more than 75,000 Coca-Cola people across the United States. We're thrilled to be a part of the NHRA team. Drag racing has an incredibly rich history, and we look forward to working with NHRA to create an even greater next five -- and next 50 -- years. We think this is a tremendous marketing opportunity and promotional opportunity for all of the great fans of this sport and for this great brand, and we look forward to bringing them together. We look forward to working with the drivers, the mechanics, and everyone involved with NHRA who have entertained fans since 1951. It's truly an honor for The Coca-Cola Company to be associated, and to have our innovative and rapidly growing brand, POWERade, in a partner relationship.

"We look forward to the 2002 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. It's going to be fabulous, whether you're at the track or watching the series of ESPN. It's going to be a thrill to see hot rodders celebrating their wins and refreshing themselves with POWERade in the winner's circle."

Oza outlined POWERade's strategy, which includes on-air, trackside, and retail support and promotion of the series.

Oza outlined POWERade's recent re-energization in the last year, beginning with a new formula enhanced with B vitamins, a contemporary new look, and a new advertising campaign that have combined to create a buzz around POWERade.

"The NHRA is a phenomenal property that gives us the ability to tap into a different field than we have in the past and really leverage the loyal and large fan base of the NHRA," he said. "[I was asked] where I saw these two brands getting together, and it's really in three areas: innovation -- the NHRA has made a whole lot of innovations in drag racing and continues to do so, and POWERade has been one of the big innovators in sports drinks in the last 10 years; both are on a rapid growth trajectory; and POWERade's new tagline is 'very real power,' and I'm not quite sure that there's anything that delivers more 'very real power' than Kenny Bernstein going zero to 300 mph in four and a half seconds.

"We expect to take this relationship to the next plateau, and we want to do it on the air, at tracks, and in market at retail. The strength of POWERade and The Coca-Cola company will help us build the NHRA and, on the flip side, the bigness and magnitude of the NHRA will help bring credibility to the POWERade brand in what I know will be a long and successful partnership."

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