Team Wilkerson Racing has announced the extension of the organization's primary marketing
sponsorship, with Levi, Ray & Shoup, through the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing season. 2010
will mark the 11th consecutive season for the program, which features popular Funny Car contender
Tim Wilkerson as the team's owner and driver.
Levi, Ray & Shoup, a leading provider of information technology solutions, web services, and
enterprise output management, has creatively utilized the Wilkerson Funny Car to promote its
products and services, entertain clients, and develop new customer relationships via the unique
hands-on environment created at NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing events. In addition, the company
regularly utilizes Wilkerson to make in-person appearances at conferences, meetings, and corporate
functions.
"Our relationship with Tim Wilkerson and his Funny Car team has been a mutually beneficial one from
early on in this program," said Dick Levi, President of LRS, Inc. "Tim is a terrific ambassador for
our company, and his on-track success has done a great deal to widen our corporate visibility, but
the key to us has always been finding ways to utilize the Funny Car to drive business. With each
passing year, the race team and LRS have done an increasingly better job of managing that, and our
first-class hospitality center, right in the team's pit area, is a key part of our overall
marketing strategy.
"In today's challenging environment, we need to make sure we're implementing the best possible
marketing tools, and getting the best return on our investment when we do so. Team Wilkerson is
simply a great asset for us, and we're looking forward to racing, and winning, with Tim in 2010 as
we keep building on the momentum we've established."
Team Wilkerson, like LRS, is based in Springfield, Ill., and that hometown connection is another
positive attribute from which the program benefits. Being so close to corporate headquarters,
Wilkerson is better able to work with his primary marketing partner on a consistent basis, and
often takes advantage of his proximity to keep the sponsorship moving forward.
"Being here in Springfield, with Dick Levi and LRS headquarters just a few minutes away, I'm able
to spend more time with them, away from the race track, than a lot of other team owners or drivers
can with their sponsors," Wilkerson said. "We've built a really great relationship that starts
with business and ends with business, but in the middle there is a lot of friendship and trust, not
just between Dick and myself, but our whole team and their whole company. We've all found ways to
be important partners in this deal, and that's about as good as it gets when you're talking about a
primary sponsor.
"Our goal for the rest of 2009, and then on into 2010, is to keep running strong while we represent
LRS to the best of our abilities. We know it's about far more than just winning laps on the race
track, and our group is constantly looking for ways to make this program better for everyone.
We're honored to move forward with LRS, and we'll just keep working as hard as we can to be a
valuable part of their business."
The 2010 NHRA Full Throttle season will feature 24 national events over a nearly 10-month span, all
of which will be nationally televised by ESPN2.
LRS, Inc. was founded in 1979 as a local computer consulting company, and has grown into a global
provider of innovative information technology solutions, with more than 600 employees. http://www.lrs.com
Team Wilkerson Racing is based in Springfield, Ill. and features the NHRA Nitro Funny Car owned,
driven, and tuned by popular championship contender Tim Wilkerson. http://www.timwilkerson.com
