AAA named title-rights sponsor of inaugural event at Gateway Motorsports Park
NHRA announced today an expansion of its long-standing relationship with the Automobile Club of Southern California, as the company has agreed to become the title-rights sponsor of the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis. The inaugural event will take place Sept. 28-30 and is the third of six races in the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship.
“The Automobile Club of Southern California has grown to become a very significant and important partner of NHRA,” said Tom Compton, NHRA president. “The race entitlement provides a tremendous platform for AAA Missouri to market its insurance and member services to NHRA’s loyal fan base in the greater St. Louis area.”
The Auto Club is entrenched in NHRA Drag Racing at all levels of the sport. The relationship also includes naming rights for Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, entitlement rights of the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals held at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, entitlement of the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals in Dallas, sponsorship of the Auto Club Road to the Future Award annually recognizing the sport’s Professional rookie of the year, and presenting sponsorships of the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, the Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion in Bowling Green, Ky., and the popular California Hot Rod Reunion at Auto Club Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield.
Gasoline tops $3.50 at earliest ever point
' ' & -->Motorists have seen average U.S. gasoline prices rise above $3.50 a gallon in three different years, but it has never happened this early. The national average hit $3.523 a gallon this week, the Energy Department said, up 4.1 cents from last week. And in North Texas, the average price for regular in the Fort Worth-Arlington area is $3.49 a gallon, up 9 cents from a week ago and 23 cents from a month ago, according to a report Tuesday by auto club AAA, Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express. Analysts said the early price shocker is likely a sign that pain at the pump will rise to some of the highest levels ever this year. "This definitely sets the stage, potentially, for much higher prices later this year," said Brian Milne, refined-fuels editor for Telvent DTN, a commodity information services firm. "There's a chance that the U.S. average tops $4 a gallon by June, with some parts of the country approaching $5 a gallon." Mark Dorsett, 46, was filling up his extended-cab Chevy Silverado on Tuesday at a Shell station near Texas Christian University, where regular was priced at $3.53. "It seems outrageous," he said. "I feel pretty helpless. I am driving less and when we take long drives, we use my wife's minivan." Dorsett wasn't alone. "It's painful," said Dennis Alexander, 55, TCU's director of foundation relations, referring to what it takes to keep his 17-mpg Toyota FJ Cruiser running. "I already had a quarter tank but it still cost me almost $50. Even in 2008, when average gasoline prices hit records above $4 nationally and in California during the summer, the U.S. average didn't climb above $3.50 until April 21, according to the Energy Department's weekly survey of service stations. The $3.50 mark was also breached last year, but not until March 6. This time, the dubious milestone was hit weeks before prices usually rise when refineries typically shut down for spring maintenance, and weeks before prices rise again when states switch from less expensive winter blends of gasoline to more complicated, more expensive summer blends. There are plenty of reasons for the high prices, said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for Oil Price Information Service. "Early February crude oil prices are higher than they've ever been on similar calendar dates through the years, and the price of crude sets the standard for gasoline prices," he said. Oil futures prices closed above $100 a barrel Tuesday. In addition, several refineries have been mothballed in recent months, he said, and some of those refineries "represented the key to a smooth spring transition from winter-to-spring gasoline." The annual change in gasoline formulas is mandated by pollution-fighting regulations. The average price peaked in Fort Worth-Arlington on July 16, 2008, at $3.98 a gallon. "I don't feel very good," Fort Worth antiques dealer Cissy Thompson said as she filled up her silver sedan. "But I drive a Jetta. Thank God it's not an 18-wheeler." Others figured the higher prices were not worth getting upset about. "I have to commute from Dallas three times a week for graduate school at TCU," said Estelle Garza, 23, putting fuel in her Lexus. "It doesn't matter what it costs." Rick Faulkner, co-owner of Colonel's Bicycles, said, "It's like bread -- you have to buy when you need it." But it can be mitigated. "You can walk or bike more."
