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Pilot
Flying J Partners with Bristol Motor Speedway
as
Title Sponsor for 2016 Battle at Bristol
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University
of Tennessee and Virginia Tech to Clash in
“College Football’s
Biggest Ever” Game Televised on ESPN/ABC
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Knoxville,
TN – December 2015 / Newsmaker Alert / Pilot
Flying J, the largest operator of travel centers in North America,
announced Tuesday (November 24) via a team member event at their Knoxville
headquarters, that they have signed on to be the title sponsor of the Battle
at Bristol – an iconic college football game to be held on Saturday,
September 10, 2016 at Bristol
Motor Speedway. The historic racetrack will host a border battle between
the Virginia Tech Hokies and Tennessee Volunteers and is expected to shatter
the existing college football attendance record.
This
sponsorship represents a monumental company initiative for Pilot Flying
J. From securing naming rights for the game – Pilot Flying J Battle at
Bristol – to using this pinnacle event as a catalyst to further engage
employees, customers and consumers nationwide via multiple events, this
opportunity will look to further position the company as a destination
of choice in the travel center industry. Adding to the excitement, ESPN/ABC
is confirmed as the broadcast partner of the Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol,
with time and final network to be determined at a later date.
“We
likely wouldn’t be sitting here today if I had not been given the opportunity
to play college football for the Tennessee Volunteers. That experience
had a significant impact on my life, teaching me valuable life lessons
that provided me with the foundation to be a successful businessman,” said
Jim Haslam II, founder and chairman, Pilot Flying J. “We could not be more
excited as a company to be part of college football history next September.
Throughout the year, we will seek opportunities to engage our Pilot Flying
J team members and customers to join in and celebrate this tremendous partnership.”
The
Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol brings together neighboring states of
Virginia and Tennessee that have deep and storied roots for the company.
From Jim Haslam’s playing days for the 1951 Tennessee Volunteers national
championship football team, to the first Pilot filling station opening
in Gate City, Virginia in 1958 – a mere 30 miles from Bristol Motor Speedway,
the Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol will serve as the proverbial middle
ground to showcase the company within college football and at an iconic
venue.
This
sponsorship will complement Pilot Flying J’s current sponsorship of NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series driver Michael Annett’s No. 46 car.
Following
Bristol Motor Speedway’s legendary Night Race on August 20, 2016, the venue
will be transformed into the world’s largest football stadium for the inaugural
Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol game. With a projected attendance of 150,000,
the event is expected to crush the previous college football attendance
record, which currently stands at 115,109.
“All
eyes in the sports world will be on the Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol
next September and we’re thrilled to have a national sponsor by our side
who embodies the welcoming spirit of our Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountain
region,” said Jerry Caldwell, executive vice president and general manager
of Bristol Motor Speedway. “We’ll have Vol and Hokie nation fans from nearly
every state at the game, so having a partner who shares our focus on making
guests feel at home is important to us.
“It’s
also fitting that Pilot Flying J’s founder, Jim Haslam, was on a national
championship football team. He took the lessons of discipline and determination
that he learned on the field and applied them in business to create one
of the top 10 private companies in the nation. With his visionary leadership
and Pilot flying J’s commitment to excellence, the Battle at Bristol will
be a world-class event.”
The
title sponsorship will allow Pilot Flying J the opportunity to engage with
fans at the racetrack – via display, sampling and merchandising opportunities
– throughout the 2016 NASCAR season, as well as during the Pilot Flying
J Battle at Bristol itself. Travel centers and plazas throughout the Pilot
Flying J network will also feature unique in-store retail promotions and
displays leveraging Battle at Bristol imagery and assets, allowing further
customer interaction.
The
combined network of more than 650 retail locations across North America
serves more than 1.3 million customers daily. To learn more, visit www.pilotflyingj.com
or follow Pilot Flying J on Facebook at Facebook.com/pilottravelcenters
or on Twitter - @PilotTravel.
To learn more about the Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol, visit www.bristolmotorspeedway.com/battleatbristol,
and join the social conversation using #BattleatBristol.
About
Pilot Flying J
Pilot
Flying J, the largest operator of travel centers and travel plazas in North
America, is committed to making life better for professional drivers. Headquartered
in Knoxville, Tennessee, Pilot Flying J has more than 650 retail locations,
52 Goodyear Commercial Tire and Service Centers (Wingfoot) and 44 Boss
Shops all of which accept MyRewards loyalty cards, Pilot Flying J’s loyalty
rewards program. The Pilot Flying J network provides drivers with access
to more than 70,000 parking spaces for trucks, 4,800 showers and more than
4,400 diesel lanes offering Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) at the pump. Pilot
Flying J is currently ranked No. 8 on Forbes’ list of America’s Largest
Private Companies. Visit www.pilotflyingj.com
for more information.
About
Bristol Motor Speedway
Nestled
in the mountains of northeast Tennessee near the Virginia state line, Bristol
Motor Speedway is a 0.533-mile concrete oval race track with 28-degree
corner banking, 650-feet straightaways and a 40-foot wide racing surface.
Renowned as “The World’s Fastest Half-Mile,” the short track features two
races each year from the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series,
one Monster Truck event and one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, NASCAR
Whelen Modified Tour and NASCAR K&N Pro Series-East race. With a crowd
capacity in excess of 150,000, the facility expects to set a new NCAA college
football attendance record on Sept. 10, 2016 when the racetrack transforms
into a football stadium and plays host to border rivals, the University
of Tennessee and Virginia Tech. The speedway property is also home to Bristol
Dragway. The historic drag strip celebrates its 50th anniversary, headlines
with the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals and operates more than 70 event
days each season. The Bristol Chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities,
a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, awarded a record-breaking $805,000
to regional children’s charities in rural Tennessee and Virginia in Nov.
2015, bringing their eighteen-year total to nearly $10 million in grants
awarded. In existence since 1961, Bristol Motor Speedway and Dragway was
purchased in 1996 by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. a publicly traded company
that is a leading marketer and promoter of motorsports entertainment in
the United States. For more information, visit the company’s website at
www.bristolmotorspeedway.com.
Contacts:
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Leah
Rosenfeld
Zeno
Group for Pilot Flying J
312-396-9766
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Anne
LeZotte
Communications
Manager
Pilot
Flying J
865-588-7488
ext. 3028
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Dana
A. Landry
Director
of Communications
Bristol
Motor Speedway | Dragway
423-989-6991 |