Tropicana announces Chicagoland sponsorship

March 15, 2001
11:21 AM EST (1621 GMT)

CHICAGO, Il. -- Wednesday Chicagoland Speedway introduced its new four-year sponsorship agreement with Tropicana Products and unveiled the name of its inaugural NASCAR Winston Cup race - The Tropicana 400.

The Chicagoland Speedway and Tropicana agreement designates that the first four NASCAR Winston Cup races at the speedway will be named the Tropicana 400. The inaugural race, NASCAR's debut in the nation's third largest market, is scheduled for Sunday, July 15.

"With this year's inaugural Tropicana 400, we're hoping to start a prestigious tradition that both Tropicana lovers and NASCAR fans nationwide can be proud of," said Dan Wise, vice president of sales and marketing for Tropicana.

"Millions of Americans are passionate about Tropicana, just like they're passionate about NASCAR, so the association is natural for us."

NASCAR Winston Cup driver Jeff Gordon contributed to the day's festivities by unveiling the official Tropicana 400 race logo and welcoming Tropicana's sponsorship. Gordon also previewed Chicagoland Speedway's inaugural race weekend, which begins July 13.

"All of the Winston Cup drivers have been looking forward to racing at Chicagoland Speedway for a while now," Gordon said.

"Tropicana's involvement in the sport and the race makes the weekend even better. Every driver is going to be looking to add the inaugural Tropicana 400 trophy to his trophy case."

Race weekend at Chicagoland Speedway will begin on Friday, July 13 with Bud Pole Day for the Tropicana 400.

On Saturday, July 14, the speedway will host the NASCAR Busch Series race with the aforementioned inaugural Tropicana 400 scheduled to be run on Sunday, July 15.

"We are confident that NASCAR's debut weekend at Chicagoland Speedway is going to be an unbelievable experience," said Joie Chitwood III, vice president and general manager of Chicagoland Speedway.

"It has been a pleasure to work with Tropicana and they have been extremely helpful in making sure that the entire weekend will be a huge success for everyone involved. The Tropicana 400 is going to be special."

Tropicana Products, a division of PepsiCo, Inc., is the world's leading producer and marketer of branded fruit juices.

Based in Bradenton, FL, Tropicana markets its products in the U.S. under a number of brand names including: Tropicana Pure Premium Original, Grovestand and HomeStyle juices; Dole juices and juice blends; Tropicana Pure Premium Calcium and Vitamin C&E nutritionally enhanced juices; Tropicana Season's Best and Pure Tropics juices; and Tropicana Twister juice beverages. The Dole brand name is licensed from Dole Food Company, Inc.

Chicagoland Speedway, conveniently located just 30 miles southwest of downtown Chicago on old Historic Route 66 in Joliet, Illinois, is a 1.5-mile D-shaped tri-oval superspeedway with seating for 75,000.

Chicagoland Speedway is owned and operated by Raceway Associates, a combined ownership group from International Speedway Corporation, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation and nine Joliet entrepreneurs.