ALOHA, Ore., May 28, 2013 – Just over three years ago, Cindi Lux drove up to the window of a new local coffee shop that had an edgy, warm feeling. Inside, she found her usual “cup of Joe” was anything but usual. The Aloha, Ore-resident and avid coffee drinker had found her personal fuel at that Black Rock Coffee Bar. Shortly after, the 12-time road-racing champion met Black Rock’s Head of Operations Daniel Brand and a friendship was formed on a commitment to the community, fast cars and perfectly blended coffee. In 2011, Black Rock (www.BlackRockCoffeeBar.com) dipped its stir stick into motorsports marketing with Lux Performance Group, LLC, the race and road performance tuning shop owned by Cindi Lux and her husband Fred, at the Rose Festival’s annual Rose Cup races at Portland International Raceway (PIR). The resulting success spawned even more in year two and now the combination returns for a third consecutive year at the 53rd Annual Portland Rose Festival Rose Cup Races with Lux again piloting the No. 5 SRT Viper Competition Coupe Fueled by Black Rock Coffee.
The first year of the marketing partnership came together relatively late before the June event – scheduled this year for June 14-16 – preventing the marketing-minded collaboration to fully exploit the opportunity. For the second year, Black Rock extended its involvement with more on-site and in-store activation. Now, with proof that backing the Oregon Motorsports Museum Association Lifetime Achievement Award-recipient grows community spirit and brand identity, Black Rock has crafted a special blend of beans to create the “Cindi Lux Fuel Roast by Black Rock Coffee Bar”. The unique blend of coffee will be available at all Portland-area Black Rock Coffee Bars for the week of the Rose Cup Festival. Special giveaways, including autograph cards and t-shirts, will also help extend the brand’s presence and association with Lux Performance Group.
Click here to purchase your Cindi Lux Fuel Roast by Black Rock Coffee Bar.
Black Rock will host a special Rose Cup Appreciation Day at its SE 164th Ave location in Vancouver, Washington on June 1. The location was chosen to underscore the massive regional impact of the Rose Cup Festival and the 53rd running of the Rose Cup races. Cindi Lux will be onsite with the No. 5 SRT Viper Competition Coupe Fueled by Black Rock Coffee. The event will take place from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
The Portland Rose Festival's Rose Cup Races have become a tradition in the Northwest as closely tied to the annual city celebration as any other activity. The Father’s Day weekend-tradition is the region’s largest gathering of SCCA and club racers with over 400 drivers and cars entered in a variety of races and classes. The 45-minute Rose Cup feature race is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, June 16.
Black Rock Coffee Bar roasts its premium blend of coffee locally ensuring the freshest espresso possible. Endeavoring to find the perfect balance of flavors, Black Rock pushes the boundaries of what is possible with the daily cup of ‘Joe’, to stir things up a bit and to throw a little edge on the coffee biz. Black Rock brewed its first coffee at its first store in Beaverton in early 2008. Today, they span from Seattle to San Diego with nine Black Rock stores in the Portland-area and continued substantial growth planned in the coming months.
Quotes
Cindi Lux, Driver, No. 5 SRT Viper Competition Coupe Fueled by Black Rock Coffee: “For those who know me, yes I am a coffee snob and it’s so fun to be part of a family-owned business like Black Rock Coffee Bar. I am looking forward to racing more in 2013. Being in the driver’s seat is so relaxing for me especially when I get the chance to wheel around in the SRT Viper. It’s a magical car to race. I am just honored that I am the one behind the wheel!”
On the partnership with Black Rock: “Exposing new people to this company is really fun. Not only from a quality beverage standpoint but also to prospective franchise owners who see the future potential of the Black Rock brand. I am really looking forward to hanging with the Black Rock employees, owners and fans again during the Rose Cup weekend. They are the most fun to be around of any partner I’ve ever worked with. They do a great job and love it while they do it. It is one of the things that makes Black Rock so successful and one of the first things that drew me into the company. The people are genuine and they are great. Coffee is an extremely competitive business in the Northwest. They have the same insane dedication to make BR the best coffee in the West Coast as I do towards winning races.”
On the Cindi Lux Fuel Roast by Black Rock Coffee Bar: “My family and friends always said I should have my own coffee and now I do! How great is it to have my own line of special blend roasted coffee being offered for sale here in the Northwest? How cool is that? It just knocks me out!”
Daniel Brand, Head of Operations, and Black Rock Coffee Bar:
On the partnership with Lux Performance Group and Cindi Lux: “Lux Performance Group and Black Rock Coffee Bar have core fundamental values that lineup to make this work on all levels. Cindi and Black Rock share common goals in getting involved with our communities and making a difference. Taking each and every situation that comes along and attacking it with all we have to make it the best! At the end of the day it's not just about coffee or racing, but about living for the moment and enjoying them while you have them.
Black Rock is celebrating its fifth year in business. We are grateful for the success of 14 stores and what looks to be like 20 by the end of 2013! Big Thanks to Cindi and Fred Lux for seeing a partner in us, to work as a team to actively be involved with Black Rock and always strive for greatness and achieve big things!”
On what Black Rock gains from the partnership: “The Rose Cup offers us an opportunity to interact with our customers in a very unique setting. The race environment is so distinctive and to let individuals experience it is incredible! To see what it takes in years of experience of Cindi and the Lux Performance team to go out and give their all to win!”
On the Cindi Lux Fuel Roast Blend: “Cindi and our lead roaster have profiled coffees from around the world and created a blend that shows the artistry and performance of coffee and racing together to fuel your day every morning! Cindi enjoys drinking our Black Label Coffee that represents strength and boldness. This Vienna-style roast has stark flavor contrasts, full body and rich undertones. Like Cindi, this roast is a classic! All Portland area stores will be carrying the limited edition ‘Cindi Lux Fuel Roast by Black Rock Coffee Bar’, along with our online store, and at the race itself!”
ALOHA, Ore., June 10, 2013 – It shouldn’t take well-wishers long to find an appropriate gift for Cindi Lux as she celebrates the 25th anniversary of her first appearance at the Portland Rose Festival’s Rose Cup Races. Roses are a great gift but, for the Aloha, Ore-resident, she is more interested in hardware, hardware in the form of the victory trophy for the 53rd Running of the Rose Cup Feature Race at Portland International Raceway (PIR). Lux returns for the June 14-16 event with the No. 5 SRT Viper Competition Coupe Fueled by Black Rock Coffee.
The Rose Cup Races, the oldest club and amateur road race west of the Mississippi River, held its first event in 1961. It was a significant moment in motorsports history for the Northwest but even more momentous for Lux. She wasn’t there at the time but that inaugural event was won with the same blood that runs through her veins. Cindi’s father, Dick Hahn, took the first two Rose Cup trophies and sparked a lifelong obsession for the family that can trace its auto racing roots back to grandfather Carl Hahn’s participation in the Pan American Road Race in 1953. In 1988, Cindi made her first start in the race competing against her brother, Doug Hahn. In fact, it was the first race she ever ran in the Portland area. The weekend was a less than auspicious start for the youngest Hahn as her older brother lapped her three times in that event. Things would improve for the winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award from Oregon Motorsports Museum Assoc. but returning the top award to the family mantle is still a major goal for Lux who has enjoyed stints as a Dodge, Mopar and SRT factory driver in recent years.
Lux Performance Group, the Aloha-based race and road car prep shop owned by Cindi and husband Fred Lux, have also entered a second car for longtime team driver Steve Streimer. The Sherwood, Ore.-resident will race a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car in both the Rose Cup Feature and the three Porsche Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA West (PGT3 Cup) series races on the weekend. Streimer opened the year with a Gold class podium – second-place – at California Speedway in the one-make championship. Lux Performance Group prepares Streimer’s Porsche throughout the year.
The event has become a tradition in the Northwest as closely tied to the annual city celebration as any other activity. The Father’s Day weekend-tradition is the region’s largest gathering of SCCA and club racers with over 400 drivers and cars entered in a variety of races and classes. Over 18 different “groups” make up the Rose Cup Races but it is Sunday’s Rose Cup Feature race that is the attraction for Lux. The Feature is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. (Pacific Time), June 16.
Despite her 12 road racing championships and 75 victories, the 1.967-mile, 12-turn facility will challenge the program that the Lux Performance Group has assembled. The “run what you brung” mentality of the Rose Cup’s main event has made it one of the country’s most prestigious club races. While Lux brings a race car designed by SRT for SCCA World Challenge racing, the V10-powered American super car has heady competition from thoroughbred racing machines such as highly modified, tube-framed Trans-Am cars and other one-off monsters.
Returning for the third consecutive year with Lux Performance Group at the Rose Cup is Black Rock Coffee Bar (http://www.blackrockcoffeebar.com/). The Portland-based franchise has increased its association with Lux Performance Group and activation of this motorsports marketing platform in each season. For 2013, the greatest honor yet for Lux was announced in late May. Black Rock has crafted a special blend of coffee beans to create the limited edition “Cindi Lux Fuel Roast by Black Rock Coffee Bar” for the week of Rose Cup. The Cindi Lux blend will available at all Portland-area Black Rock Coffee Bars through June 16. Coffee aficionados and Cindi Lux fans can get an even more exclusive “Signature Edition Cindi Lux Fuel Roast by Black Rock Coffee Bar”. This product will be limited to only 50 units and will have Lux’s signature on the packaging as well as include the 2013 SRT Viper Competition Coupe Fueled by Black Rock Coffee autograph card. It will only be available online at http://brcbstore.myshopify.com/products/cindi-lux-fuel-roast.
Black Rock Coffee Bar roasts its premium blend of coffee locally ensuring the freshest espresso possible. Endeavoring to find the perfect balance of flavors, Black Rock pushes the boundaries of what is possible with the daily cup of ‘Joe’, to stir things up a bit and to throw a little edge on the coffee biz. Black Rock brewed its first coffee at its first store in Beaverton in early 2008. Today, they span from Seattle to San Diego with nine Black Rock stores in the Portland-area and continued substantial growth planned in the coming months.
Quotes
Cindi Lux, Driver, No. 5 SRT Viper Competition Coupe Fueled by Black Rock Coffee:
On the anniversary of her first Rose Cup race: “That first year, I seriously had no clue what I was doing. Talk about a deer in the headlights! I was terrible! It’s pretty depressing to be lapped by your brother, not once, not twice but three times in a 45-minute race. But, it got better over the years. We’ve gotten really close a few times but this one still seems to be eluding us. We know we don’t have the firepower this weekend that some of the others in the class are bringing but we’re going to give it everything we have again. We have great partners in Black Rock Coffee Bar and SRT and we want to put on a good show for them and the Portland fans.”
On the significance of the Rose Cup to her: “With my hectic motorsports lifestyle I spend so much time road racing other tracks around the country, it’s important for me to stay grounded with the people who helped launch my career. I owe so much to the people in Portland area. I have done some crazy things to adjust my schedule and get cars back for this race over the years. I don’t always make it every year but we certainly try. I am very excited to be able to return again this year, our third with Black Rock Coffee Bar and SRT, to race in the Rose Cup. This is such a cornerstone event for me!”
On the significance of the Rose Cup to her family: “This is a really important race to everyone in my family and I want to win it but it is about more than that. This race is more for my Dad. It holds such memories in his racing career. He is 82-years old and still acts like a 10-year old around race cars. It brings him to life and inspires all of us. He will be with me on Father’s Day as I run this race.”
On her expectations for the Rose Cup: “We need 300 more horsepower to equal what the Trans-Am cars have… and that’s not a joke. The SRT Viper Comp Coupe I am driving is built for the World Challenge series which is a completely different set of rules, more contained. But never count us out! In testing this year, the SRT Viper Competition Coupe Fueled by Black Rock Coffee ran very well. But you might be seeing me do a rain dance out on the track. Then it’s a whole new ballgame! A lot more of an even playing field for us.”
On her third year with Black Rock Coffee Bar: “The people at Black Rock are just fantastic. It’s one of those partnerships that has so much energy, it just works perfectly. It gets better every year. I am so excited by how they have taken this partnership and really activated it. It allows us to return so much more for the investment when they are so excited and committed. Black Rock roasts their own coffee right here in Portland and it’s unbelievable, no bitter taste. This is a great local company with an amazing product. I promise you this, in five years, you’ll be seeing Black Rock Coffee Bars all over the place and coffee drinkers will be so much better for it! You just have to try it to understand it. With all of their Rose Cup-related promotions going this week at their Portland stores and at the track, there is no better time to give it a try.”
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