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2006 NAIAS :: Reviews and Interviews

Jack Roush announces sponsorship with AAA

PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / AMERICAJR.com

Jack Roush announces a sponsorship between AAA, Ford and Roush Racing.

by Jason Rzucidlo

AmericaJR@AmericaJR.com

 

We attended the press conference when car owner and CEO of Roush Racing, Jack Roush announced a new sponsorship between AAA Motorsports and Ford Racing. AAA will sponsor Mark Martin's #6 car in the Nascar Nextel Cup series during his final year of racing.

Tom McKernan is the CEO of Auto Club Enterprises. He reports, "AAA is not new to motorsports. We're back into racing. This is the first time as a national federation. However, there has been regional sponsorships. Many of our 48 million members enjoy and identify with motorsports. It's the largest membership organization."

Mr. McKernan added, "We also want to reach a younger demographic. We all know NASCAR has 75 million fans. Many of them are the in 18-44 age group demographic. We are exposing the AAA brand to a demographic reaching through motor sports. Motor sports has brought us side impact beams, and so forth. We're also involved in keeping the racing on the race track and not on the street. We're very pleased about that."

Burt Diamond is the Global Marketing Manager for Ford Racing Technology. He announces, "I can assure you that everyone at Ford, Roush Racing and AAA are going to work very hard to bring Mark Martin to championship this year. Mark is truly one of our hero drivers. He's a phenomenal driver and a very successful ford deal. He's a class act on the track and off the track. Another class act is Jack Roush. At Ford, we have an expression about people. They bleed ford blue. He's totally part of the Ford Family. He's won championships in each elite series of NASCAR. that's an unbelievable feat. we're very excited about the 2006 season."

Robert L. Darbelnet is the President of AAA. He reports, "Our involvement will also enable us to reach other segments of the population. As Tom mentioned, mindful of our long involvement in motor sports. this sponsorship provides us with an opportunity to once again make a contribution to the sport. There's an additional opportunity that excites us. Granted we're well known for roadside assistance. Some of the most important work relates to saving lives."

Mr. Darbelnet has announced that AAA has selected Teen Driving Safety as one of it's initiatives for 2006. He said that motor vehicle crashes are the #1 cause of death for teens. It's a health issue that needs attention. Research has shown that parents have the greatest influence over their kids when it comes to driving.

Jack Roush is a car owner and the CEO of Roush Racing. He announces, "We're really excited about the prospects of the new Fusion. We think that it will be a car that is much better than the Taurus that we had. The initial testing indicate that the car is definitely going to take off where the Taurus stopped. We're real excited about that. It's the first time that Roush Racing has had this universal type that they can carry border to border, coast to coast on the North American continent. It's gonna be exciting. It's gonna be something new for AAA. This partnership will expose AAA's future and current customers, millions of trackside fans. The T.V. audience worldwide is in the hundreds of millions. It's going to be great to watch how the fans react to aaa's new market initiatives."

Mr. Roush continues, "Mark Martin is Roush Racing's first stock car driver. He's been with me 19th years together. I wish I could squeeze it to 20. He's got a son, Matt, that he's excited to get started on some of his own racing. We share a reputation for excellence. We believe that those corporate values will be better understood thru this involvement. All of our shows come out of an active fleet of cars. This is one of mark's cars. The new car will be driven by Mark, who is my oldest and first driver. I'm 64 years old. Mark's 46. He can drive for several more years if he would. For a time, it looked like he wouldn't be driving for much past 2005. He agreed to stay on and help launch the #6 car. Roush's relationship with AAA will extend past the track side activities. We will promote traffic safety on the nation's highways. Mark Martin is a father of a young man. He'll soon have his driving privileges. Mark has made three PSA's that make an appeal to the parents of young drivers. We feel that those appeals will have an impact on ones that will become fans going forward."

LISTEN TO THE PRESS CONFERENCE "Jack Roush announces sponsorship with AAA" Select a media format: MP3

 

PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / AMERICAJR.com

Tom McKernan is the President and CEO of Auto Club Enterprises.

 

PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / AMERICAJR.com

Burt Diamond is the Global Marketing Manager of Ford Racing Technology.

 

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