Stafford Late Model Driver J.J. Hill Welcomes Onyx Moonshine as Primary Sponsor
Stafford Springs, CT — As the 2013 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series season heads into its homestretch at Stafford Motor Speedway, Late Model driver J.J. Hill is welcoming Onyx Moonshine as the new primary sponsor on his #41. Hill debuted the Onyx sponsorship on August 2nd and his car will be adorned with the colors of Onyx Moonshine for the remainder of the 2013 season in preparation for a full season in 2014.
“We’ve got the Onyx Moonshine logo on the hood and the quarter panels, and we’ll be doing some great appearances and events with them,” said Hill. “Getting outside support definitely brings some confidence back to the team. Family, friends, and crew, have given incredible encouragement, but having someone that you don’t know support you will help the team. We had Onyx Moonshine on the car the last time we raced, and hopefully we’ve got our I’s dotted and T’s crossed to have a good finish this Friday night.”
The new partnership between Hill’s #41 team and Onyx Moonshine can be attributed to Hill’s uncle. “My uncle is my best promoter and he’s always putting a word in for the race team. Whenever there is a strong bite he will try to bring me into the conversation. He had been talking with Adam von Gootkin, one of the co-founders of Onyx Spirits Company, which led to a great meeting. Our brands are a good match and they’re really a great group of people. We’re definitely not throwing any of our other sponsors out; we’re just bringing a new sponsor on board. With the appearances we’ll be doing for Onyx, it will only help our other sponsors on the car and give them some extra exposure.”
One area that Hill hopes the new sponsorship from Onyx Moonshine will help is reaching multiple wins in a single season. Hill has won one race in each of the past four seasons but he has been unable to duplicate the feat in any of those years. He is planning to change that with 6 races left on the 2013 schedule.
“Unfortunately, in the past few seasons we’ve hit a really high note early on and weren’t able to repeat,” said Hill. “Winning races starts in the shop and I’ve been in the shop every night this week working on the car. Hopefully we’ll have Lady Luck on our side in the coming weeks.”
In addition to the new sponsorship from Onyx Moonshine, Hill is excited for this Friday’s 60-lap feature. Hill’s first career win came in a 100-lap Late Model event and his lone win of 2012 was in an extra distance race.
“I love the longer races, I wish every week was a 60-lapper,” said Hill. “The longer races separates who can run for 5 laps and who can be as good at the end of 60-laps as they are at the start of the race. We won the 100-lapper for our first win and we won an extra distance race last year so maybe the extra distance is a sign of good things to come for us,” he added. “We need to get back to victory lane. Last year we won the second race of the season and I thought we were in good shape for multiple victories. This year we won the first race and we’re really pushing for another. More wins will definitely keep everyone on the team going through the winter.”
Another ace that Hill has up his sleeve is the fact that he and his crew found something awry with the setup of his car during the CARQUEST 150 program two weeks ago. Because Stafford’s weekly divisions don’t run qualifying heats in the Whelen Modified Tour, each division was given an extra round of practice, which Hill’s team took advantage of.
“We finally found something with the setup that we’d been overlooking,” Hill noted. “We were concentrating on other areas of the car and were able to make a swing at it when we had the extra practice session. It helped us tremendously in the corners. Normally, we lose out on the heat race and only get two practices when the Tour comes to Stafford. I really appreciate the extra practice, as track time is key. We were running up front in the feature race that night when the car broke. Our game plan is to come back in the same shape and try to end the year on a high note. We were really excited about coming to the track last week after we fixed everything on the car but unfortunately Mother Nature wasn’t on our side. We haven’t had a 100% car for a few weeks, so I’m looking forward to coming back and being able to finish the deal for a change.”
Tickets for this Friday night’s CBYD 811 Night / Late Model Double Distance event are $20.00 for adult general admission, $5.00 for children ages 6-14 general admission, and Free for Children ages 5 & under. Reserved seating is available for $23.00 for all ages. All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax. As always, Stafford Motor Speedway offers free parking with overnight parking available.
For more information, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.
ABOUT ONYX MOONSHINE
Onyx Moonshine is the first legal moonshine to be made in New England. It is an ultra-premium spirit that sips like a top shelf whiskey and mixes better than vodka. Onyx Moonshine is available for purchase in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Onyx Moonshine was named the ‘Best Locally Distilled Spirit’ by the Hartford Advocate in 2013. Onyx Moonshine was the Official Spirit of the 2012 GRAMMY Awards. The company was voted by Yankee Magazine as the “Best New England Micro-Distillery for 2012.” For more information, please visit www.onyxmoonshine.com.
Sources: Scott Running/Stafford Motor Speedway PR