MIAMI – Kia Motors America (KMA) is partnering again with Homestead-Miami Speedway to sponsor the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race – the Kia 200 — on April 28, 2012. The agreement marks the second straight year Kia is sponsoring the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge (CTSCC) race during the Grand Prix of Miami Weekend.
“We are pleased to continue our relationship with Kia for GRAND-AM racing,” said Homestead-Miami Speedway President Matthew Becherer. “We’re proud to have them as a partner as we again host the best road racing circuit in America. It’s a natural given the tremendous success Kia has had on the GRAND-AM circuit with last year’s Street Tuner (ST) championships and their podium finish at the season opening event last month.”
“Motorsports continues to provide a powerful platform to raise awareness and perception of the Kia brand with racing enthusiasts, and we are thrilled to again partner with Homestead-Miami Speedway and share an exciting weekend of road racing with fans in South Florida,” said Michael Sprague, vice president, marketing & communications, KMA. “Our third-year Kia Racing program is enjoying a lot of momentum and returning as the title sponsor of the Kia 200. After a championship-winning season in 2011, and with 2012 off to a tremendous start with our second-consecutive podium finish at Daytona, the Kia Racing team is experiencing tremendous success and we want to share that success with race fans and keep our momentum going.”
Kia made its road racing debut in 2010, when it joined the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge with a pair of Forte Koups. Kia’s racing partner, Kinetic Motorsports, campaigns the No. 10 and No. 12 Forte Koups in the ST class, which are co-piloted by Andy Lally and Nic Jönsson and brothers Mathew and Mark Pombo, respectively.
The 2 hour, 30 minute Kia 200 race will be run on the speedway’s 2.3-mile, 11-turn stadium road course. Like the GRAND-AM Rolex Series’ Grand Prix of Miami (Sun, April 29), the Kia 200 CTSCC features two classes of race cars – the big-bore Grand Sports (GS) and the smaller ST. This April’s race will mark the fourth consecutive year the series has run in Miami and the seventh time overall.
Two-day Grand Prix of Miami Weekend tickets start at $35 and are available at www.homesteadmiamispeedway.com or by calling 866.409.RACE.
About Kia Motors America
Kia Motors America is the marketing and distribution arm of Kia Motors Corporation based in Seoul, South Korea. KMA offers a complete line of vehicles through more than 755 dealers throughout the United States and serves as the “Official Automotive Partner of the NBA.” In 2011, KMA recorded its best-ever annual sales total and became one of the fastest growing car companies in the U.S. Kia is poised to continue its momentum and will continue to build the brand through design innovation, quality, value, advanced safety features and new technologies.
Information about Kia Motors America and its full vehicle line-up is available at its website – www.kia.com. For media information, including photography, visit www.kiamedia.com.
About Homestead-Miami Speedway
The Speedway has been open since 1995 following an initiative to spur economic recovery in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew. The 640-acre facility is active more than 280 days per year and hosts NASCAR’s Championship Races during Ford Championship Weekend (November 16-18, 2012). The Sprint Cup Championship Ford 400 is broadcast live on TV and radio to 175 countries and into 24 languages. The 2011 championship attracted ESPN Television’s largest NASCAR Sprint Cup viewership ever with a peak audience of 10.5 million when the checkered flag fell. Homestead-Miami Speedway, featuring a 1.5-mile oval and 2.21-mile road course, generates more than $250 million annually for the region.
For more information, visit www.homesteadmiamispeedway.com.
