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| Hartford, Hoyos and Ford---the 2001 Toyo Tires IDRC Pro Class Champions |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE *** 12-11-01
First Pro Class Domestic Sport Compact Rocks the Import World in 2001
Congratulations to driver Matt Hartford, team owner Nelson Hoyos and Ford Motor Company for winning the 2001 IDRC National Championship in the Toyo Tires Pro Class. The team finished with 591 points, nearly double the points of runner-up Efren Vazquez in his Team Toyo Mazda R-100. The team also had double the number of appearances of most of the field with a total of eight.
For the past 20 years, Domestic manufacturers have passively stood by and watched their market shares in both the youth and sport compact segments dwindle away to Honda, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Mazda and Mitsubishi. While it was a frustration to the Big Three, Ford was the first to domestic manufacturer to successfully launch a counter-offensive. In October of 1999, the Ford Focus hit the U.S. dealerships and shortly after it was a top-10 seller.
While the Focus hit the consumer target from the start, the marketing team of Ford realized that long-term success would depend on the perception of the Focus brand. When it comes to perception of an automotive brand, there is no better outlet than successful Motorsports participation. While NASCAR is the King of all American Motorsports, it doesn't provide an outlet for a sport compact. Taking a look at the NHRA, it was obvious that the average age of the fans was two or three decades above the Focus buyer.
Beginning in 2000 and carrying into 2001, Ford Racing Performance Parts made investments in a number of racing teams campaigning the new Ford Focus platform with the IDRC and other import and sport compact event producers. In 2001, Matt Hartford and Hoyos Racing delivered an incredible return on their sponsor's investments with an IDRC National Championship.
"A brand-new platform and a new racecar came out of nowhere, rewrote the record books and captured the national championship in its debut year. While its V6 engines was controversial, it helped the industry as a whole by accelerating the development of V8 and three-rotor powerplants from the competition," says IDRC’s National Director Michael Ferrara. Ferrara went on to say, "2002 rule revisions will require the Hoyos team to build a new engine to fit the rules. Even with this hurdle, we believe the Hoyos Racing team will be one of the favorites for the 2002 championship. "
Speaking of favorites, the importdrag.com on-line poll had the Hoyos Racing Focus winning the popularity contest among all Pro Class racers by a distinct margin. Hoyos finished with 28-percent of the vote to Puerto Rico's Jorge Lazcano (Nissan 300ZX) with 19-percent.
For the 2002 season, the Hoyos Racing team will join the other top Pro teams in the world for the IDRC biggest and best season ever. The most publicized and covered import and sport compact series in the world will produce 15 events at nine of the country's best tracks. The richest and most competitive national championship will combine with three divisional championships to provide all of the racers the best program for the racers. For the fans, the IDRC has expanded the IDRC experience to now include the SR-1 Team Drag Challenge, the AV-1 Audio Visual contest, expanded manufacturer's midway, a performance parts swap meet and a Dyno Tuner challenge (at select events). This is in addition to the world's largest people's choice car show the Meguiar's Movement One showcase.
For more information, contact IDRC at:
IDRC, Inc.
21405 Brookhurst Street
Huntington Beach, CA 92646
(714) 593-0280 / (714) 593-0281 fax
info@importdrag.com
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