Valvoline Renews Stafford SK Modified® 1st Place Contingency Sponsorship; Brings SK Modified® Winner’s Check to $1,850

Stafford Springs, CT — Stafford Speedway has announced that Valvoline, in conjunction with CARQUEST Auto Parts, will return to the track’s Contingency Program as first place SK Modified® feature partners. Valvoline will contribute a weekly bonus of $150.00 to each SK Modified® feature winner during the 2009 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series season. Combined with the weekly $150.00 bonus provided by CARQUEST, and the $150.00 bonus from The Davidson Company, each SK Modified® feature winner at Stafford during the 2009 season will take home $1,850.

In their first two seasons of contingency sponsorship, Valvoline has contributed over $5,000 to SK Modified® competitors and their 2009 participation in the Stafford Contingency Program will push their contribution to nearly $10,000 in bonus money for SK Modified® competitors in three years.

“We are proud to have a prestigious company like Valvoline associated with our SK Modified® division,” said said SMS COO Mark Arute. “Valvoline is a name that has become synonymous with the Indy 500 and open wheel racing. Valvoline has helped some of the best open wheel drivers in the world achieve their dream of winning at Indianapolis and we are happy to have Valvoline as part of our premier open wheeled division.”

Valvoline has a long and storied history in motorsports, with over 100 years of powering drivers to victory lane in various forms of racing. Valvoline has powered Indy 500 champions like Al Unser, A.J. Foyt, Johnny Rutherford, Gordon Johncock, Bobby Rahal, Al Unser, Jr., Jacques Villeneuve, NASCAR Champions like Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, and Jeff Gordon, NHRA Top Fuel Champions Joe Amato and Tony Schumacher, as well as 9-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel.

Valvoline, a division of Ashland Inc. <http://www.ashland.com>, serves more than 100 countries worldwide <http://www.valvoline.com/pages/world-wide.asp> and is a leading marketer, distributor and producer of quality branded automotive and industrial products and services. Products include automotive lubricants, transmission fluids, gear oils, hydraulic lubricants, automotive chemicals, specialty products, greases and cooling system products.

Valvoline also offers Eagle One <http://www.eagleone.com> car care products for automotive cleaning and maintenance and operates Valvoline Instant Oil Change <http://www.vioc.com>, the second largest quick-lube chain in the U.S. For more information about Valvoline and the products and services that they have to offer, please visit www.valvoline.com.

For more information, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.

Sources: Scott Running/Stafford Motor Speedway PR