WELCOME, N.C. (May 23, 2016) – Richard Childress Racing announced today that Whelen Engineering Co., the “Official Warning Lights of NASCAR”, will serve as the primary sponsor on Ryan Newman‘s No. 31 Chevrolet SS for the 57th running of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 29, 2016.
“Whelen Engineering, the Official Warning Lights of NASCAR, is pleased to be the primary sponsor of the Whelen No. 31 Chevrolet for the Coca-Cola 600,” said Phil Kurze, vice president of motorsports. “Ryan (Newman) is a familiar name to us since he has been in Victory Lane a number of times in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour events at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway. It is fitting to have a graduate engineer driving a race car sponsored by an engineering company. The familiar red and white Sam Bass paint scheme will be displayed on the car and we look forward to the excitement of the longest race on the Sprint Cup schedule.”
The red and white colors of the No. 31 Whelen Chevrolet will hit the track for the annual Memorial Day weekend event, in which Newman has three top-five and six top-10 finishes, in addition to five pole awards.
“Whelen’s commitment to motorsports is comprehensive, and we are proud to partner with them for the Coca-Cola 600,” said Torrey Galida, president of Richard Childress Racing. “Their dedication to innovation and safety is in line with the philosophy here at RCR, and we look forward to seeing the No. 31 Whelen Chevrolet on the track this Memorial Day weekend.”
A company that now employs over 1,400 workers, Whelen began in 1952 when George W. Whelen invented the first rotating aircraft “anti-collision” beacon in his garage in Deep River, Connecticut. Over the years, Whelen grew out of the garage and into the mainstream, working with police, public works, and fire departments across the country. Today, Whelen has two manufacturing facilities totaling over 1,000,000 square feet, employs the largest staff of design engineers in the industry, and has partnered with OEMs on new vehicle design and product integration.
While this is RCR’s first partnership with Whelen in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Whelen has an extensive history and presence in motorsports. As the “Official Warning Lights of NASCAR”, Whelen provides all of the caution lights, pit road entrance, and pit road exit lights, “hot pit/garage area” warning lights, as well as all of the warning lights used on pace cars and safety vehicles across all three NASCAR national touring series. Whelen also serves as the title sponsor of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour, and the NASCAR Whelen Euro-Series.
This commitment to motorsports extends beyond NASCAR as well. Whelen is the primary sponsor on the Action Express No. 31 DP Corvette in the IMSA Weather Tech Championship Series.
For additional information on today’s announcement, and all that’s happening at RCR, please visit rcrracing.com.
