Constantine Sealing selected as official small business of Ford Hall of Fans
DEARBORN, Mich. -- The season-long quest to find Ford’s biggest NASCAR fan will continue with a new element this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Ford is recognizing Constantine Sealing of Glastonbury, Conn., as the Official Small Business of the Ford Hall of Fans. The company will have its name splashed across the hood of the No. 6 Fusion and driver Matt Kenseth’s uniform for Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301.
“The response from individuals who have shown creativity and enthusiasm for Ford Hall of Fans has been great, but there are a lot of small businesses who display their loyalty to Ford and NASCAR as well and we wanted to recognize that,” said Jeannee Kirkaldy, motorsports marketing manager, Ford Performance. “Constantine Sealing is a family-owned business that has supported racing on a local level while also being great ambassadors for Ford. We feel they’re a worthy recipient of this title and look forward to seeing them get some well-deserved visibility this weekend.”
https://twitter.com/FordPerformance/status/1019242269088649216
Constantine Sealing Service was started in 1979 by Bill Constantine Jr. when he was only 18 years old and has grown steadily. He and his three sons now head an operation that includes a variety of commercial and residential pavement maintenance in Connecticut and surrounding states, including paving, asphalt repairs, line striping, and seal coating. The family owns approximately 20 Ford vehicles of all shapes and sizes for both personal and professional use.
“I’ve been following racing for 42 years,” said Constantine, who used to sponsor street stock and pro stock cars at Stafford Speedway (Conn.), but also spent many nights at Riverside Park Speedway (Mass.) before it closed in 1999. “When they told me we were going to be on the hood of Matt Kenseth’s car, I could not believe it. I figured it was going to be a little sticker on a quarter panel or something like that, but then when they sent me the picture of the car I was in a state of shock. I didn’t know what to say or what to do.”
Constantine counts Ford drivers Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Kenseth among his current favorites, but recalls rooting for the likes of Cale Yarborough, Davey Allison, Ernie Irvan, Bill Elliott, Rusty Wallace and Mark Martin through the years.
“We used to go every year to the Daytona 500 from the early 1980s to the early 2000s. I didn’t miss a year,” said Constantine, who has also attended races at Talladega, Pocono, New Hampshire, and Atlanta among others. “I’m a Ford man. When I was growing up my dad always had Fords and bought them from Monaco Ford. I remember him telling me what good people they had working there and ever since he said that our whole family has bought nothing but Fords.”
Ford Hall of Fans launched earlier this year in an effort to recognize those people who make the sport tick -- the fans. People can nominate themselves through a video or photo that demonstrates what makes them passionate about NASCAR.
Initial entries will be accepted until Aug. 19, 2018, and a select panel of judges will decide on 16 semi-finalists. The public then will vote for their favorite with six finalists selected to attend Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway Nov. 16-18. Two grand prize winners will emerge after a series of competitions and will receive a VIP trip to the NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Charlotte and a new Ford vehicle of their choice.
Fans can enter the Ford Hall of Fans by going to www.NASCAR.com/Ford.