MILLVILLE, NJ, June 7, 2011 - Five-time Indianapolis 500 starter Jimmy Kite and television celebrity Andy Bell will pilot a pair of Lux Performance Group-prepared Dodge Viper ACR-X in the second round of the 2011 Dodge Viper Cup presented by Pennzoil Ultra this weekend. Millville's New Jersey Motorsports Park will host races three and four of the five-venue, ten-event, one-make championship on Saturday, June 11 and Sunday, June 12. Kite, who resides in Indianapolis, will drive one of the two, celebrity/guest driver Vipers which the Aloha, OR-headquartered Lux Performance manages. Former, professional motocross racer Andy Bell, who today is best known for his involvement with the television and movie franchise Jackass and MTV's Nitro Circus, will run the second entry.
Kite skyrocketed to notoriety in 1997 with a last-turn pass of veteran Chuck Gurney in the prestigious Copper World Classic, USAC Silver Crown race held at Phoenix International Raceway. The spectacular victory led directly to the young-Georgian acquiring a seat in the fledgling Indy Racing League (IRL). To-date, Kite has 34 IndyCar Series starts and has the distinction of being the only driver to run a NASCAR-sanctioned event (Camping World Truck Series) and an IndyCar Series race on the same weekend at the same track - first at Texas Motor Speedway then at Kansas Speedway in 2005.
Bell is a former, professional motocross and freestyle motocross (FMX) rider. He raced motocross from 1993-'97 before switching to freestyle for four more years (1998-2002), winning the 2001 Canadian FMX Championship. Before retiring, he ranked Top-10 in the world for three of four seasons and holds nine Guinness World Records. He rose to pop-culture fame as a regular on both Jackass and Nitro Circus.
This is the second season in which Lux Performance has been asked to oversee the Celebrity/Guest Driver Program for Dodge. Lux Performance Group, owned by Cindi and Fred Lux of Aloha, OR, has been a Dodge "works" program since 2005 and was instrumental in the successful creation and execution of the Dodge Viper Cup Celebrity effort in 2010. The Fred Lux-managed crew focuses on the maintenance of the two V10-powered, front-engine machines during the three-day events while Cindi Lux uses her internationally recognized skills as a driving instructor and as a Dodge and Mopar factory driver (2005-2008) to coach and spot for the guest drivers.
Kite, who will be making only his second career road course start this weekend, is the second IndyCar driver to step into America's supercar for this competition. Last year, Richie Hearn (Las Vegas) managed a win in his debut. Bell is the first entertainer/motocross rider to be entered to race one of the not-street-legal Vipers. All winnings from the guest driver's efforts will be donated to the charity of their choice or towards Breast Cancer Awareness.
Neither Bell nor Kite has raced a Viper or competed on the 2.25-mile, 14-turn, New Jersey Motorsport Park road course. A promoter's test day will be held Friday for the full Dodge Viper Cup series with practice, qualifying and races to be held on Saturday and Sunday. Tape-delayed broadcasts of every Dodge Viper Cup event will air on VERSUS. Please check local listings for broadcast times. News and features from the race weekends can be found at both www.CindiLux.com and www.ViperHeadquarters.com.
Quotes
Cindi Lux
About Dodge Viper Cup celebrity entries at New Jersey: "What is the difference between an Indy car or a USAC Sprint car with a Viper ACR-X? Well, Jimmy Kite will be the man to tell us! And having Andy Bell on board from Nitro Circus TV fame will be awesome. I have seen Andy drive in a few smaller races and this guy can wheel! These two drivers are very diverse in background but will be hilarious to have on our team. They both have great personalities and really just love to drive. That's what this deal is all about; you get totally different drivers, you give them each a fire-breathing Viper, send them out to have fun and just sit back and enjoy the show! New Jersey is going to be an absolute blast to watch!"
Jimmy Kite
About racing the Dodge Viper Cup for charity: "I'm really fortunate that Dodge and Lux Performance Group invited me up to New Jersey to do this. The Viper has always been one of my dream cars and I am giddy I get to race one all weekend. It will be a new challenge for me and I am really looking forward to it. I'm also excited about meeting Andy Bell. I'm a big fan of Nitro Circus so it is going to be a lot of fun to hangout with Andy as my teammate and get to race against him. I really want to thank everyone at Dodge Motorsports, the Dodge Viper Cup and Cindi Lux for bringing me in this weekend. Adding to it that we're doing it for charity is great too. That's icing on the cake! It's going to be a lot of fun and I can't wait to get out there and race!"
ALOHA, OR, June 10, 2011 – Local racer and 12-time road racing champion Cindi Lux, who lives in Aloha, announced today that Black Rock Coffee Bar (www.BlackRockCoffeeBar.com), a Portland-area franchise which features premium-blend coffees sold via an easy drive-thru format, will team with Lux Performance Group to field an entry at this year’s 51st Annual Rose Cup Race. The strategic, motorsports marketing program with the rapidly growing coffee bar brand will launch during the June 17-19 event at Portland International Raceway (PIR). The No. 4 Black Rock Coffee Bar-Lux Performance Dodge Viper Competition Coupe will feature the red Black Rock Coffee star along with the familiar colors of Lux Performance at the annual celebration of the Portland Rose Festival.
Like Lux Performance Group, Black Rock Coffee Bar believes speed of service and quality are not mortal enemies. The marriage between high performance, speed and quality are hallmarks shared by both organizations creating a perfect synergy that will be on display over the course of the Rose Cup weekend. Through its top-tier product and innovative marketing effort, Black Rock is taking a maturing coffee drive-thru market to the next level. Black Rock focuses on bringing a sophisticated, edgy option to the drive-thru industry. This first-time, motorsports, promotional effort joins with Black Rock’s other branding initiatives to attract customers from across the demographic and income level spectrum. Currently, there are nine Black Rock Coffee Bars throughout Oregon, Washington and California with eight additional franchises scheduled to open this year. Black Rock also enjoys a thriving online store (www.BlackRockCoffeeBar.com) from which the same proprietary blend - formulated and roasted by Black Rock - that is served at their retail stores can be purchased.
2011 marks the 15th Rose Cup start for the 2003 Oregon SCCA National Driver of the Year. Lux’s father, Dick Hahn – now a successful auto dealer in Yakima, WA. – won the inaugural Rose Cup event in 1961. Lux will be racing for overall honors in the SCCA World Challenge-based Viper Comp. Coupe. While yet to add a second Rose Cup Feature trophy to the family mantle, Lux did win her class in 2009. Her impressive resume also includes 75 victories and nearly 50 pole positions overall during her career. The race will take the green flag on the 1.967-mile, 12-turn track at 1:50pm, (PT) Sunday.
The 45-minute, Rose Cup Feature is one of the few remaining, “run what you brung” events in the world of motorsports. Sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), the rules governing the race are largely focused on securing the safety of the drivers and spectators with very few performance restrictions existing and no “performance balancing” between types of cars applied. The mixture of high-end performance and unrestricted opportunity of the race is a perfect match to the business model for both Black Rock Coffee Bar and Cindi Lux and is what entices the large spectator turnout each year.
Quotes
Daniel Brand, Head of Operations, Black Rock Coffee Bar: “We are incredibly excited about partnering Black Rock Coffee Bar with Cindi Lux at the Rose Cup event. At Black Rock, we are all about speed, style and the dynamic city of Portland; traits we share with Lux Performance. We are a relatively new company and we have been watching for the perfect partner to join with to help spread the Black Rock vision. With Cindi, we have found someone who has the style, speed, edginess and the same commitment to excellence we try to portray at our coffee bars every day. We are thrilled to work with her to further spread the word of Black Rock Coffee Bars not just locally but regionally and even nationally with the great tradition of the Rose Cup.”
Cindi Lux:
About joining with Black Rock Coffee Bar: “I have never had a sponsor over the years that so closely equals my personality and habits. Black Rock Coffee is the place that I stopover every day for my personal shot of rocket fuel. These are hardworking entrepreneurs here in Portland and it’s that Northwest blend of two hard working companies – Black Rock and Lux Performance - who enjoy life that are coming together for the 51st Annual Rose Cup Races. It’s been a great partnership so far and they are really embracing this. As a team, we are loving every second of working with Black Rock. As they say; ‘this could be the start of something beautiful’ because this company is going places! I am just coming off a Dodge Viper Cup Series race in New Jersey days before the Rose Cup; I am going to need something with some serious flavor and serious caffeine. I definitely know where to go!”
About racing her home track: “Racing in my hometown is always significant to me and I really try to juggle my crazy schedule to allow me a few days off to race the Rose Cup each year. I’m really looking forward to seeing all the Portland fans at the track. I have gotten to know so many of the fans over the years of coming here it’s like coming to a family reunion. This race carries so much personal importance to me. I want to go out there and do my best for my family, for Black Rock and for the city! This is going to be like a giant shot of Black Rock espresso!”
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