The 27-year-old driver, who is
competing in his first full season in the NNS for Turner Scott Motorsports,
became the first Brazilian to win in one of NASCAR's top-three national touring
series events when he took the checkered flag last year at Road America. Piquet
Jr. went on to win two more races in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in
2012, while also earning the series' Most Popular Driver and Most Improved
Driver awards. Piquet Jr. is a former Formula One driver and is the son of
three-time Formula One world champion, Nelson Piquet.
"With a talented driver like Piquet,
Jr., his international presence and a venue like Chicagoland, Hooters is proud
to represent the number 30 car as we celebrate our 30th birthday this
fall," said Dave Henninger, chief marketing officer, Hooters of America.
"The sponsorship gives us a special opportunity to showcase the
contemporary evolution of Hooters, while paying tribute to our rich history
that includes a longstanding relationship within the sport of stock car
racing."
Part of the Hooters evolution is the
expansion of the casual dining restaurant brand into international markets.
Chanticleer Holdings, which secured exclusive rights to operate Hooters
restaurants in parts of Brazil earlier this year, plans to announce its first
Brazil location in the near future.
"Hooters is such an iconic brand and has
a rich history in the sport of stock car racing," Piquet Jr. said.
"It's truly an honor to celebrate Hooters' first 30 years and also the
brand's growth in global markets like my home country of Brazil."
The official No. 30 Hooters car design was
first revealed to the NASCAR world today via Piquet, Jr.'s Twitter account: @nelsonpiquet.
After a series of Hooters clues, Piquet, Jr., unveiled the sleek design
that will hit the racetrack in Chicago with the new, modern Hootie owl logo.
The design is an intentional nod to the past, painted in the iconic Hooters
orange and white color scheme and modeled to pay homage to the famous No. 7 car
of the late NASCAR champion and Hooters-sponsored driver, Alan Kulwicki.
This year also marks 20 years since a tragic
airplane accident took the lives of Kulwicki along with Hooters executives Mark
Brooks, Dan Duncan and Charlie Campbell. Dedicated to preserving their memory,
Hooters will host the 20th annual Hooters Memorial Cup Golf Tournament on
Sept. 16, two days after the Chicagoland race, in Marietta, Ga. This special
fundraising event has helped generate more than $8 million to-date for the Hooters
Community Endowment Fund, which contributes to many of Hooters philanthropic
endeavors.
In November 1992, just months before the
accident, one of Hooters fondest NASCAR memories occurred as Kulwicki took
second place in the season-ending Hooters 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway to
clinch the Winston Cup Championship by a mere 10 points, the closest margin in
NASCAR history at the time. The race is often regarded as one of the best in
NASCAR history, marking the final start in the career of legendary driver,
Richard Petty, and series debut for future champion, Jeff Gordon.
That Nov was a sad day for many within not just Nascar but the Hooters family as well. Living in the city where Hooters was originally founded in, I will be happy to see the Hooters Logo on a race car again!! Seeing that hauler leave Bristol in 1992 was just heartbreaking
ReplyDeleteWe lost 2 of the previous years championship contenders in 93.
ReplyDeleteAlan (The Champ)in a Plane crash on the way to Bristol and Davie Allison in the Helicopter crash at Talladega.
Many of the people involved in Alan's Ford Underbird Team are still very much involved in NASCAR. Alan's life and Championship Rein may have been cut short, but he helped others start a long career in the sport. It is unfortunate that so many look back at that Atlanta race in 92 as Gordon's first Cup race or Petty's last rather then remember the little team that over came a huge points deficit to win the Top Championship in NASCAR.
BTW: It was 93, Alan won the 92 championship.
I agree. I'm a newer fan, so I don't remember that time frame in '93. I would imagine it had to be as hard (if not harder) on the sport than what the loss of Earnhardt in '01 was. Also, isn't it fitting that 20 years after a underdog team won the championship, we have another underdog team (Furniture Row) trying to do that very same thing?
ReplyDeleteExcellent...
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