Largest Japanese Oil Company to Serve as Primary Sponsor for Two NNS Races including the History 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway
Concord, NC (May 14, 2014) – Chip Ganassi Racing Teams (CGRT) announced today a new partnership with Japan’s largest oil company, JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp., which will see their brand, ENEOS, as the primary sponsor on the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro for two NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) races with driver Kyle Larson at Turner Scott Motorsports (TSM).
Larson will compete in the ENEOS colors in the History 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 24, as well as the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday, August 22. In addition, ENEOS will be a full-time associate partner on the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro throughout the remainder of the NNS season.
ENEOS has a long and successful history in numerous racing series around the world, but has yet to expand its sponsorship to the higher ranks of NASCAR. In partnering with CGRT, ENEOS joins the only NNS driver of Japanese ancestry, and has an exciting stage on which to showcase their brand.
NOTES OF INTEREST:
· About ENEOS: ENEOS is the brand name for products manufactured and sold by JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp., the largest oil company in Japan. ENEOS products are the highest quality lubricants available in the marketplace today. These products use advanced additive and base oil technology, the result of joint engineering and research with all of the Japanese automotive manufactures. ENEOS lubricants provide exceptional performance, power and protection for a wide variety of applications including race cars, motorcycles and street automobiles.
· ENEOS and Motorsports: ENEOS is no stranger to motorsports. Beginning in 2000, ENEOS began formulating, supplying and sponsoring Honda’s Formula 1 racing team. In addition to its products being used in numerous racing series, ENEOS currently sponsors racing teams in series across the globe. Sponsored teams include three-time U.S. Rallycross champion Tanner Foust in Global Rallycross, Lexus Team LeMans ENEOS in Super GT, the Yamaha Factory Racing team in Moto GP and Akinori Ogata in NASCAR’s K&N Pro Series East.
· Kyle Larson and the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro: In his second year driving in the NNS for TSM, Larson has already improved upon last season’s stellar Rookie of the Year campaign. Through nine races, Larson has one victory, six top-fives, eight top-10s, and currently has the No. 42 Chevy Camaro fourth in the NNS owner standings. In addition to driving in the NNS, Larson is also a full-time driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS), where he drives the No. 42 Target Chevrolet for Target Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. Through the first 11 races of the season, Larson has two top-five finishes, five top-10s, is leading the Rookie of the Year point standings and is 13th in the NSCS driver standings. Larson, whose mother is Japanese, is the only driver of Japanese descent in the NNS and NSCS.
QUOTEBOARD:
Motoshi Sunami, President and CEO, JX Nippon Oil & Energy USA Inc.: “Our ENEOS team is proud and eager to kick-off this partnership with Kyle Larson and Chip Ganassi Racing in the great American sport of NASCAR. Kyle has proven his talent in the sport, as well as his ability to successfully represent his partners. ENEOS has developed advanced lubrication technologies over decades of research that will have a strong presence in NASCAR.”
Steve Lauletta, President, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams: “We think the partnership with ENEOS makes perfect sense for our team given who they are as a brand. Additionally, it will be great to connect a Japanese company with Kyle Larson, the only current driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series with a Japanese heritage. We feel like the partnership in NASCAR will help build the ENEOS brand amongst current race fans and further expand NASCAR to a new group of fans and other potential business partners.”
About ENEOS:
ENEOS is the corporate brand name of JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation, the largest oil company in Japan. ENEOS brand motor oil is developed to exceed the highest standards of the automotive industry. ENEOS product ranges from motor oil that offers optimal performance protection under the most extreme temperature variations, to ecologically friendly motor oil that provides superior fuel saving capacity. For more information please visit http://www.eneos.us/.
About JX Nippon Oil and Energy Corporation
JX Nippon Oil and Energy Corporation is a fully integrated petroleum products company, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. JX Nippon Oil offers petroleum products and services throughout the world. Through partnerships with world class customers, JX Nippon Oil produces technologically advanced motor oils and transmission fluids that reduce carbon emissions, improve fuel economy and reduce wear on critical components. For more information please visit www.noe.jex-group.co.jp/english/
About Chip Ganassi Racing Teams
Chip Ganassi has been a fixture in the auto racing industry for over 25 years and is considered one of the most successful as well as innovative owners the sport has anywhere in the world. Today his teams include four cars in the Verizon IndyCar Series, two cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and one Prototype in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. Overall his teams have 17 championships and 160 victories, including four Indianapolis 500s, a Daytona 500, a Brickyard 400, five Rolex 24 At Daytonas and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Ganassi boasts state-of-the-art race shop facilities in Indianapolis and Brownsburg, Ind. and Concord, N.C., with a corporate office in Pittsburgh, Penn.
For more information log onto www.chipganassiracing.com
