Musselman’s Apple Sauce Partners with Venturini Motorsports for 2017 ARCA Season
CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA (February 7, 2017) – Venturini Motorsports (VMS) and Musselman’s Apple Sauce have agreed to a one-year partnership for the upcoming 2017 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards season.
Knouse Foods, Inc., based in Peach Glen, PA, is a grower-owned producer, marketer, and distributor of Musselman’s, one of the country’s leading brands of applesauce. Celebrating over 100-years of business, Musselman’s has been winning over generations of families with their “Quality You Can Taste” products.
In effort to expand their ongoing motorsports presence, Musselman’s has partnered with well-known racing family, Venturini Motorsports, to broaden their national presence through a strategic, multi-faceted marketing campaign with special emphasis on community involvement through a national Distracted Driving Awareness campaign.
“Musselman’s family of brands are excited to announce this new partnership with Venturini Motorsports in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards,” said Kevin Blacker, Knouse Food’s Director of Marketing. “Over the last several years, the ARCA Series with its demographic footprint and strong fan base has provided Musselman’s with a solid platform to promote our brand through a variety of marketing and retail initiatives. We see value in the relationship between the on-track activations and the off-track consumer engagements. This newly formed relationship with Venturini Motorsports, who is the longest tenured team in the ARCA series, and their stable of young talented drivers will take our program to the next level and strengthen the Musselman’s reach within the series and beyond. We look forward to an exciting partnership and a great racing season!”
The Musselman’s brand will be showcasing their Musselman’s BIG CUP and Musselman’s Squeezables products in primary and associate branding on the VMS’s race fleet during the 20-race season. This will include primary branding in twelve races and associate branding across eight races. Musselman’s BIG CUP satisfies appetites of teens and adults with active lifestyles, while Musselman’s Squeezables is the healthy snack Mom can provide to her children who are on-the-go.
“It’s a proud day welcoming Musselman’s into our family of partners,” said Tom Venturini, VMS’ Director of Marketing and Business Development. “Musselman’s continued commitment to ARCA speaks volumes to the value and reach of the series. We’re excited about our newly formed relationship and ready to put the company’s branding and marketing activation strategies into motion.”
Capitalizing on the strength of VMS’s diverse driver development program, Musselman’s will serve as an official team partner with branding attached to three of the team’s top drivers (Tom Hessert, Zane Smith & Noah Gragson) across the team’s No.25 and No.55 Toyota programs throughout the season.
VMS and Musselman’s will unveil their new partnership with Noah Gragson driving the No.55 Musselman’s BIG CUP Apple Sauce Toyota on Saturday, February 18 during ARCA’s season-opening 54th annual Lucas Oil Complete Engine Treatment 200 driven by General Tire event at Daytona International Speedway. The Daytona race will be televised live on FOX SPORTS 1 beginning at 4:00 pm EST.
Community Involvement – Musselman’s Unveils Distracted Driving Awareness Campaign
As part of their longstanding sense of community obligation, Mussleman’s has partnered with New Jersey-based charity People Against Distracted Driving (PADD®) to create Musselman’s ‘Stay Alive Don’t Text and Drive’ public awareness campaign.
Musselman’s, with assistance from Venturini Motorsports’ drivers Tom Hessert, Zane Smith and Noah Gragson, will combine to help raise awareness of the dangers of distracted driving. Throughout the 2017 ARCA season, the Musselman’s Family of Drivers will visit race tracks, local schools, municipalities, and civic organizations donating community ‘Anti-Texting & Driving” U.S. Department of Transportation approved highway/road signage as part of the company’s ‘Race to Save Lives’ community outreach initiative.
Since 2012, PADD®’s primary objective is to raise public awareness, offer 24/7 support to victims of inattentive driving and to influence legislation regarding distracted driving. For more information on PADD, visit www.PADD.org
ABOUT MUSSELMAN’S
A family tradition, deeply rooted in quality.
Musselman’s was founded in Biglerville, PA, in 1907 by Christian and Emma Musselman. The original plants in Biglerville and Gardners, PA, provided much needed canned goods for the servicemen during WWI including corn, tomatoes, and of course apples. They focused on the processing of the abundant local fruit in the area, producing apple sauce, apple juice, and their now-famous Musselman’s Apple Butter.
In 1984 the C. H. Musselman Company was purchased by a cooperative of local fruit growers (Knouse Foods, Inc.). The Musselman’s name, which reflects quality, tradition, and value was preserved and remains a thriving brand today under the ownership of the growers who still tend to their fruit orchards.
Knouse Foods, Inc., established as a growers’ co-op in 1949, has a long history of providing outstanding fruit products. They believe making healthy, delicious fruit products is more than just a job; it’s a way of life. And that’s why the growers who have spent their entire lives nurturing their orchards and harvesting their fruit also own the company. That pride and care are the key ingredients that make Knouse fruit products the very best.
For more information visit www.Musselmans.com.
ABOUT VENTURINI MOTORSPORTS:
Venturini Motorsports (VMS), fielding cars for over 30-years in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, is one of the premier NASCAR driver development programs in the country. Multiple team championships and consistent on-track success, VMS has evolved into one of the most recognizable names in motorsports. Since 2007, VMS has assisted in the career development of notable NASCAR drivers such as Joey Logano, Erik Jones, William Byron, Justin Allgaier, Alex Bowman, Brian Scott, Ryan Blaney, Brennan Poole, Daniel Suarez, Brandon Jones and John Wes Townley. Over the years the Venturini name has become synonymous with modern-day racing in America. In 2012, the Venturini family was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame (www.NIASHF.org) and now find themselves enshrined with such sports icons as Joe DiMaggio, Mario Andretti, Vince Lombardi, Tommy Lasorda and Rocky Marciano.
Official: www.VenturiniMotorsports.com | Twitter: @VenturiniMotor | Facebook: Venturini Motorsports\
Sources: Tommy Venturini/Venturini Motorsports PR