The inaugural season of the Raybestos Rookie Racing School came to a close with 20 Raybestos® brand and WIX® Filters customers learning the art of road course racing at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, S.C.
The participants spent nine hours racing four race prepped Ford Mustang GTs through the road course – reaching speeds up to 100 mph, while putting the Raybestos race-compound friction, rotors, high-performance calipers and Advanced Technology chassis parts to the test in every turn. WIX air, oil and fuel filters kept the hard working Mustang V8 engines protected from dirt and grime in the grueling pedal-to-the-metal race track environment.
“The professional instruction, both in the classroom and on the track, provided by the Jeff Gordon/Mario Andretti Racing School added a nice educational component to the event,” says Rick Towne, president of ASWA, Inc., a WIX customer for more than 10 years who attended the race school. “The chance to experience the performance of the brake and chassis components under this type of stress is a once in a lifetime opportunity, but the day was really about having a good time and pushing our personal limits on the track – passing my teammates and taking the checkered flag was priceless.”
The Raybestos Rookie Racing School, a new customer appreciation program in 2008, took more than 150 customers to six locations across the United States, including Michigan, Chicago, New Jersey, Las Vegas, and Talladega. As a follow-up act in 2009, the school plans to visit new tracks, while making sure to return to some of this season’s favorites.
“The camaraderie with the Raybestos brand and WIX team and the instructors from the Jeff Gordon/Mario Andretti Racing School made the day at the Carolina Motorsports Park unforgettable,” says Roger McLeod, president of Northern Virginia Supply, Inc., a Raybestos brake and chassis distributor and WIX Filters customer since 1967.
The schedule and dates for the 2009 Raybestos Racing School will be announced in the coming months. The racing school teaches advanced driving skills and proven racing techniques, while allowing participants to endure extreme breaking exercises like threshold braking, skid control and trail braking.
“The Raybestos Racing School events proved to be a great opportunity for our customers to test our products on cars that they see in their shops every day, in a harsher than real-world environment,” says Ken Myers, marketing manager for Raybestos brand. “When our customers experience firsthand the capabilities of Raybestos brake and chassis components, it provides them with great confidence in recommending the products to their customers.
“Of course, taking a Mustang around a race track at 100 mph, while learning how to navigate hairpin turns, also provides a bit of a thrill,” Myers adds.
