BROWNSBURG, Ind. (June 30, 2014) – Matco Tools, a manufacturer and distributor of high-quality automotive technician tools and equipment products, and Don Schumacher Racing announced today that their marketing sponsorship is being extended with a multiyear agreement.
This year marks the 14th season in which Matco Tools has been DSR’s Official Tool Supplier in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series for DSR’s Matco Tools (driver Antron Brown), U.S. Army (Tony Schumacher), Battery Extender Powered by Schumacher (Spencer Massey), Valvoline (Jack Beckman), Mopar/Rocky Boots (Matt Hagan) and Make-A-Wish Foundation (Tommy Johnson Jr.) teams.
“We are thrilled to announce that Matco Tools and DSR have agreed to a multiyear extension of our great relationship,” DSR owner Don Schumacher said. “When Matco Tools came aboard in 2001 at DSR as a sponsorship partner it allowed us to add our second team and first Funny Car team. It’s hard to believe that was 13 years ago.
“Matco Tools has been a major partner by backing Antron Brown and has helped our teams win more than 200 NHRA event titles and 10 world championships. A lot of our success is because of the quality Matco tools we use and rely on.
“Many Matco Tools distributors and their customers regularly attend our NHRA Mello Yello Series events across the country and they are an extension of our Matco Tools team with champion driver Antron Brown.”
Matco Tools joined DSR in 2001 as the Official Tool Supplier and primary sponsor on the Whit Bazemore-driven Funny Car. In 2008, Matco Tools began sponsoring Antron Brown’s Top Fuel dragster and was on the sides of Brown’s dragster when he won the 2012 NHRA Top Fuel world championship.
“The team at Matco Tools is thrilled to extend our partnership with Don Schumacher Racing and we look forward to continued success on the racetrack,” said Tim Gilmore, president of Matco Tools. “The 2014 season is off to a great start and we’re eager to keep the momentum going,” he said of Brown winning four of this year’s 12 NHRA Top Fuel titles in the Matco Tools dragster.
“For Matco Tools, it goes beyond winning at the track; it’s also about building relationships with future automotive technicians and mechanics and showing them that we support them as they embark on their new career paths.”
Not only have Brown and DSR’s Matco Tools team been valuable assets on the track, but they also continue to make a tremendous impact on the lives of technical education students. Brown and the Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster frequently make visits to schools throughout the nation and spend time talking with future technicians who anticipate the start of their careers.
Brown, who is the most recent winner on the NHRA tour, June 29 at Joliet, Ill., has 29 career NHRA Top Fuel wins and 25 No. 1 qualifying awards. The Matco Tools Top Fuel team has a category-best four wins this season.
“It’s great that we’ll be working with Matco Tools and its distributors for several more years,” Brown said. “I couldn’t imagine what it would be like not to visit tech schools with Matco and not to have the distributors, their families and customers with us at the races. It’s a fantastic partnership and we’re going to continue to race hard and dig deep to try and bring another championship home for Matco.”
Brown, who currently ranks second in the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel standings, will next compete in Norwalk, Ohio, July 4-6, about an hour away from Matco Tools’ headquarters in Stow, Ohio.
About Matco Tools and its Tech-Ed Program
Since 1979, the mission of Matco Tools has been to provide professional mechanics and auto enthusiasts with all of the premium tools, storage and equipment they need to get the job done, while also offering best-in-class service and customer support. Ranked among the top-30 in Entrepreneur Magazine’s 2014 Franchise 500®, the company continues to expand throughout the United States and Canada, adding several hundred mobile stores each year.
Matco’s Tech Ed program provides several benefits to students including: access to the most innovative and high-quality tools and equipment in the market, outstanding service and support and exclusive discount pricing for Tech-Ed members.
For more information, please visit www.MatcoTools.com/TechEd and www.MatcoTools.com.