Northern Tool to sponsor Milwaukee N'wide race

WEST ALLIS, Wis. -- The biggest motorsports weekend in Wisconsin will culminate with the NorthernTool.com 250 Nationwide Series race at The Milwaukee Mile on Saturday night, June 20, it was announced Thursday by officials of the historic speedway.

Minnesota-based Northern Tool + Equipment has a Wisconsin store in Milwaukee just a six-minute drive from The Mile. This entitlement will work hand-in-glove with raising awareness for the 28-year-old company's current involvement in NASCAR, and its Web site, which has a deep selection of hand and power tools and a diverse mix of products, including generators, pressure washers, air compressors and much more, found at www.northerntool.com.

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"The opportunity to get our first taste of event sponsorship in NASCAR with such a historic Midwestern track is a great match for Northern Tool + Equipment," said owner and founder Don Kotula. "We realize the impact our involvement in NASCAR has for our business, and we've elected to showcase our Web site in the primetime NorthernTool.com 250 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at The Milwaukee Mile on Saturday night, June 20."

To this point, Northern Tool + Equipment had been solely a team sponsor with NASCAR powerhouse Roush Fenway Racing and driver Erik Darnell, a third-generation racer from nearby Beach Park, Ill.

"We're proud to partner with Northern Tool + Equipment in driving brand-loyal NASCAR fans to their great NorthernTool.com Web site," said Milwaukee Mile president and CEO Claude Napier. "For decades now, our great fans have witnessed Erik's grandfather, Bay Darnell, race on our dirt quarter-mile oval, then in Indy cars and in a number of USAC Stock Car races. Bay also raced against his son, Danny, Erik's dad, in stock-car races at The Mile. The Darnells and who they represent are an extension of The Mile family."

On Saturday night, June 20 in front of friends and relatives, Darnell will be carrying the distinctive black, yellow and gray Northern Tool + Equipment colors on his race car in the NorthernTool.com 250, which is scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. ET.

The 26 year-old NASCAR driver is also scheduled to be making an appearance on Thursday, June 18 at the Northern Tool + Equipment store at 610 S. 108th St. in West Allis, and signing autographs on The Mile's fan midway in the afternoon on Friday, June 19 and race day, Saturday, June 20.

Darnell has been hammering the gas pedal this year, his first season racing in the Nationwide Series. His strong finishes of 12th at Richmond and fourth in his first race at Darlington Raceway have gotten him plenty of notice. Over the past two-plus seasons while backed by Northern Tool + Equipment, Darnell produced two victories, led 385 laps and delivered 24 top-10 finishes in 55 races while competing full time for Roush Fenway Racing's NASCAR truck team.