NHRA has been invited to ring the Opening Bell on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on June 10,
2009. Antron Brown leads a banner list of NHRA stars that will be at the 9:30 a.m. ceremony. Matco
Tools Vice President Tim Gilmore will attend the opening bell ceremony on behalf of Danaher Corp.
and Matco Tools.
NHRA president Tom Compton will be joined in ringing the bell by Coca-Cola/Full Throttle executives
Bea Perez and Ben Reiling and IMG President George Pyne.
Other NHRA drivers expected to participate in the Opening Bell and/or the day's Car Show/Fan Fest
in front of the NYSE include Morgan Lucas (Geico/Berkshire-Hathaway), Bob Tasca (Ford), Tony
Pedregon (Q Horsepower/Royal Dutch Shell), Eddie Krawiec (Harley-Davidson) and Karen Stoffer
(Geico/Berkshire-Hathaway).
"This is a tremendous opportunity and we are very pleased that the NHRA has invited Matco Tools to
attend the opening bell ceremony," Gilmore said. "Matco Tools has a long-standing relationship with
the NHRA and we're excited about our partnership with Mike Ashley Racing and Antron Brown. The
Englishtown (N.J.) is one of the more prestigious events on the NHRA schedule and this is a great
kick-off to an exciting race weekend."
"I'm honored and blessed that NHRA has asked me to attend the opening bell ceremony," Brown added.
"It's an awesome opportunity to showcase our great sport of NHRA drag racing to a whole new
audience."
NHRA also will be hosting a fan fest in front of the NYSE that is scheduled to being at 11 a.m. The
street will be shut down to accommodate the Matco Tools dragster, Geico Powersports dragster,
Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines
Harley-Davidson and Geico Suzuki. Full Throttle will present a themed NHRA Full Throttle Series
banner on the facade of the NYSE
Headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., Mike Ashley Racing fields the Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster
driven by Antron Brown. MAR proudly represents racing partners Matco Tools, Lend America, DirecTV,
BeepBeep.com, Toyota, DataDot USA, Ringer's Gloves, Go Fast Sports, Goodyear, FRAM, Autolite,
Suzuki, Connexions Sports and Entertainment, and Forward Sports Marketing.
Mike Ashley Racing supports Autism Awareness through their support of the Hyperbaric Therapy
Center. A 2007 Centers for Disease Control report found that 1 in 150 children in America today
have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and an estimated 1.5 million Americans and their families
are now affected. Autism is a national health crisis, and Mike Ashley Racing is working to help
educate the public about ways they can get involved. Visit the Heal Autism Now website for more
information about how you can get involved at http://www.healautismnow.org
