CORNELIUS, N.C., and IRVINE, Calif. – Boost Mobile, an industry leader in no-contract wireless service, and Samsung Mobile, the No. 1 mobile phone provider in the U.S.1, will sponsor Travis Pastrana when the action sports icon embarks on his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in 2011.
Pastrana will drive the No. 99 Boost Mobile Toyota for Pastrana-Waltrip Racing in seven Nationwide Series races this season, including a mid-summer debut in Indianapolis designed to bridge NASCAR with the ESPN X Games. Pastrana plans to compete in at least 20 races in 2012.
The Boost Mobile announcement came Friday night at L.A. Live – the sports and entertainment district in downtown Los Angeles. Boost Mobile and longtime Pastrana sponsors Red Bull, DC Shoes and Nixon staged the launch party for 500 fans and members of the media. To celebrate the partnership, Pastrana received a Samsung Mobile handset from Boost Mobile to use as his official phone for the race season.
Pastrana, who owns 11 X Games gold medals, multiple supercross and motocross championships, and four Rally America championships, entertained the crowd with a freestyle motocross show and unveiled his race car. He is also known for his Nitro Circus empire, which includes a TV show, live tours and a soon-to-be-released 3D feature film.
“To announce this partnership in November and have a sponsor this soon is really gratifying, and we certainly appreciate Boost’s support,” Pastrana said. “Having worked with Boost in the past and knowing what an innovative brand it is, I am excited to see what we can do together this year. To see this many people here tonight is quite a testament to the interest everyone has in what we plan to do in NASCAR. I’m ready to get started. We’ve tested, but nothing compares to racing and I’m really looking forward to that!”
“Boost has aligned with Travis’ previous racing endeavors on the rally circuit and we are thrilled to be working with him again as he makes his debut on the NASCAR Nationwide Series,” said Ron Faris, director of brand experience, Boost Mobile. “He brings a level of energy and fun that is a perfect match for the Boost brand. With our handset partner Samsung, we look forward to bringing the sponsorship to life and giving his fans and our customers an experience to remember this race season.”
Pastrana’s debut weekend will be a sports first. Pastrana will compete at the X Games in Los Angeles July 28 and July 29, fly to Indianapolis for his Nationwide Series debut on Saturday, then return to Los Angeles to finish his X Games competition.
“That is going to be a phenomenal weekend,” Pastrana said. “We’re going big that weekend. Our vision for this team is to expose NASCAR and action sports to each other’s world, and this is a perfect way to accomplish that. We have a lot of work to do before then, but that weekend has already been marked on my calendar.”
In addition to Indianapolis, Pastrana plans to race in the following Nationwide Series races:
Sept. 9 – Richmond, Va.
Oct. 1 – Dover, Del.
Oct. 8 – Kansas
Nov. 5 – Fort Worth, Texas
Nov. 12 – Phoenix
Nov. 19 – Homestead-Miami
In November, Michael Waltrip Racing, Gary and Blake Bechtel and Pastrana announced the creation of Pastrana-Waltrip Racing, which will field cars in the NASCAR Nationwide Series beginning this year. The team will focus on creating programs that expose the action sports world’s fans and participants to NASCAR and develop youth marketing initiatives designed to create greater awareness of both sports.
“I think this shows you the power of Pastrana with both fans and sponsors,” said Blake Bechtel, who initiated conversations with Pastrana about coming to NASCAR after attending the 2010 New Year’s Eve event where Pastrana shattered the world record for the longest jump in a rally car.
“He has such an amazing following and to see him team up with a brand like Boost Mobile is really awesome. Both Boost and Travis think outside of the box and have really done some unique programs, so I think we’re going to have a lot of fun this year.”
The team also signed an associate sponsorship agreement with KMC Wheels for all of Pastrana’s races.
To prepare for the 2011 Nationwide season, Pastrana will race in Saturday’s Toyota All-Star Showdown in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway.
Check out the official Travis Pastrana NASCAR announcement and several behind-the scenes videos at http://pastranawaltrip.com/ http://pastranawaltrip.com/. Also follow team updates and announcements at http://www.facebook.com/pastranawaltrip www.facebook.com/pastranawaltrip and on Twitter at @pwr99.
Images and press materials are available through Image.net by Getty Images.
Broll footage is available at vod.oceanwatch.com.
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1 Number one mobile phone provider in the U.S claim for Samsung Mobile based upon reported shipment data, according to Strategy Analytics Q3 2010 U.S. Market Share Handset Shipments Report
WASSERMAN MEDIA GROUP: Travis Pastrana is and has always been represented by the Wasserman Media Group, which will help guide marketing, sales and promotional efforts for the newly formed Pastrana-Waltrip Team. WMG was instrumental in the formation of this new partnership and in bringing Pastrana to NASCAR, with an aim to create a broader youth audience within the sport through new drivers, action sports related marketing and promotional activations and proactive sponsors, targeting a younger demographic on a broader scale.
About Boost Mobile
http://www.boostmobile.com/ Boost Mobile, one of Sprint’s prepaid brands, offers wireless phones and services with no long-term contracts. Boost Mobile redefines value for wireless consumers with its $50 Monthly Unlimited with Shrinkage service where the longer you stay the less you pay with on-time payments for unlimited voice, text messaging, Web, e-mail, IM and calls to 411. Boost Mobile offers nationwide service on the Nationwide Sprint Network, reaching more than 275 million people, and on the Nextel National Network, reaching more than 278 million people, with no activation or long-distance fees. Boost Mobile offers a selection of quality handsets from Motorola, Sanyo, Research In Motion (RIM) and Samsung, ranging from entry-level to high-end devices available nationwide at nearly 20,000 major retail stores, including Best Buy, RadioShack, Target and Walmart, Sprint retail stores, independent wireless dealer locations, and on HSN, a leading TV home shopping network. Re-BoostR cards are available at approximately 100,000 locations throughout the United States. Experience Boost Mobile on the Web at http://www.myspace.com/boostmobile MySpace, http://www.facebook.com/boostmobile Facebook and http://twitter.com/boostmobile Twitter; and purchase products at http://www.boostmobile.com www.boostmobile.com.
