When the 2009 drag racing schedule was released, world champion driver Jay Payne was going to forgo
the long journey up the west coast from his Los Angeles-area home and skip this weekend's Northwest
Nationals at Pacific Raceways. As it turns out, a last-minute change of plans for the
FireIce-sponsored professional may by the turning point of his season.
In search of extra championship points, Payne decided to load up his FireIce Top Alcohol Funny Car
and compete in last-weekend's Division 6 race in Woodburn, Ore., and this weekend's Northwest
Nationals. So far, things are going quite well for Payne as he raced to the final of the Woodburn
race before rain postponed the trophy round to this weekend's event in Seattle.
Suddenly, Payne has a chance to win two trophies in 24 hours time.
"I'm so glad we made this trip," said Payne, who will race Brian Thiel for the Woodburn title
during Saturday's qualifying action at Pacific Raceways. "Things are going just about perfect so
far. We've got Brian covered performance-wise, or at least we did a week ago, so hopefully we can
get that win. Then it would be super cool to turn around and have a big Sunday here. This could
really change things for us and this FireIce team."
A national champion in 1995 with 11 divisional crowns to his credit, including the last five
Southeast Division titles in a row, Payne's 36 national event victories ranks him 24th on NHRA's
all-time list, which dates back to 1951.
Already a fan favorite, Payne picked up a boisterous fan base of 1.1 million firefighters earlier
this season when he inked a sponsorship deal with FireIce. FireIce is a non-toxic, environmentally
friendly fire suppression gel that firefighters add to water in pumper trucks, helicopters, fire
planes, and handheld extinguishers to help extinguish fires drastically quicker than water alone.
Aside from sponsoring Payne's racecar and saluting firefighters through its association with Payne,
FireIce, a subsidiary of GelTech, a publically traded corporation (OTCBB: GLTC), has committed to
making sizable donations to the Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the Federation of Burn
Foundations, who aid firefighters in need.
"The Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the Federation of Burn Foundations do a remarkable job of
taking care of firefighters in need so we fully support their efforts," said GelTech CEO Michael
Cordani. "FireIce is a product that greatly enhances the safety of our firefighters, which is
something that's very important to us."
Payne already has met several Seattle-area firefighters, who are all excited about his visit to the
Emerald City.
"The Seattle Fire Department has been around since 1894," Payne said. "The history of the
department is really something. They now have around 1,100 members and they cover a huge amount of
ground. I'm just in awe of these guys.
"Hopefully, we can show them a couple of winner's circle celebrations!"
