Tue, 06 Nov 2012, 17:54 PM Fresh Off Vegas Win, Vandergriff Adds New Sponsor

Courtesy of Nicole Erickson, Forward Sports Marketing

ALPHARETTA, Ga. -- Coming off a victory in Las Vegas, Bob Vandergriff Jr. is proud to welcome new sponsor, Brent Koch of Wealth Management Strategies to his Top Fuel drag racing team for the 48th Annual Auto Club of Southern California NHRA Finals.

Vandergriff grew up in La Habra, California surrounded by hot rodding and drag racing at Pomona, and now has a great memory from The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He beat Tony Schumacher at the Big O Tires NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas two weeks ago. This is the fourth time the pair has met in the finals and Vandergriff's first win against Schumacher. This was Vandergriff's 15th final around appearance and his second win.

"Vegas was so special, not just because our team worked hard to get into the winner's circle, but it was my dad's first race back after heart surgery," says Vandergriff. "We want to keep the momentum going and take home the Wally in Pomona. We're proud to have Brent backing the C & J Services top fuel dragster for this race."

Vandergriff made it into NHRA's Countdown to the Championship this season, but struggled in the first few races of the playoff format. He is now on a surge heading towards the end. He is currently only one point behind Steve Torrence and 35 points behind Morgan Lucas. One more win will land Vandergriff in 7th place at the end of the season.

Brent Koch is no stranger to NHRA racing having sponsored other teams in the past. For Koch, a managing principal of Wealth Management Strategies in Irvine, CA, drag racing provides a perfect format for business-to-business opportunities. His company specializes in financial benefits, protection, and management.

"I'm a big fan of NHRA Drag Racing," says Koch. "I've known Bob Vandergriff for a while now and had already committed to the sponsorship of his team at Pomona before his win in Las Vegas last week, so we are thrilled to have our company logo on the C&J Energy Services dragster."

This weekend at the Auto Club Finals, J.R. Todd will be driving a second Top Fuel entry to Bob Vandergriff Racing. J.R. has run for BVR at Houston, Atlanta, Topeka, Dallas, Vegas and now Pomona. BVR is working to acquire full sponsorship funding for that team in 2013.

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