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McMillen Challenges Pro Teams To Adopt A Junior Dragster
Tuesday - May 17, 2005
Elkhart, IN - Hoosier Thunder Motorsports team owners, Terry and Rhonda
McMillen, announced today that the Amalie Oil InstiGator team will become
a sponsor for the Division 4 Junior Dragster team of Alesi and Ayrton
Gerthe. Sponsors for the InstiGator, which include Amalie Oil, TORCO
Racing Fuels, Flatout Gaskets, NGK Spark Plugs, MSD, Performance
Graphics, Powershield Coatings and Crane Cams, will support McMillen in
the effort.
Alesi, a 15-year-old Rockdale, Texas freshman and her 13-year-old brother
Ayrton are excited about the announcement. "This is the coolest thing; it's
a big opportunity for my family and me. We're thankful to Mr. McMillen and
all of the sponsors," stated Alesi.
During the Amalie Oil Texas Nationals, McMillen had the chance to meet
the Gerthe family and spend time with Alesi, an aspiring Pro Stock driver.
"This family had an impact on our team," explained McMillen. "After the
race, we thought about how we might help young men and women in our
sport. We came up with a simple idea: "Adopt A Junior Dragster". It's
something we would like to challenge other professional and sportsman
teams to do also."
The "Adopt A Junior Dragster" program is designed to encourage and
support young drivers to excel in school, while at the same time help them
learn about all aspects of drag racing, sponsorship development and
communication. The program will also encourage young drivers to take
the lessons they have learned in school and utilize them in "real world"
situations. Program participants will sharpen their reading, writing and
communication skills, at the same time learning the responsibility and
commitment of running a racing organization.
"Sherrie Barbour (Special Programs Director for IHRA) and her staff have
done a great job developing the Junior Dragsters, commented Rhonda
McMillen. “ Not only is it a great way for families to play together and make
friends with other families, it's also developing the future drivers of our
sport."
Alesi and Ayrton’s cars will carry the logos of their sponsors. They will also
be writing pre-race press releases for each event that they participate and
distribute the press release to their sponsors. "We feel like this is a great
chance to teach youngsters how to prepare a sponsorship proposal and
how to communicate with their sponsors on an ongoing basis," said Terry.
As sponsors of the InstiGator team, Amalie Oil, TORCO Racing Fuels,
Flatout Gaskets and NGK Spark Plugs will supply products in the "Adopt A
Junior Dragster" program with McMillen.
Born To Race
Being in the seat of a racecar might seem more of a birthright than an
aspiration for the Gerthe family. Alesi and Ayrton are named after racers.
Alesi is named after two-time Formula One World Champion Jean Alesi.
Similarly, her younger brother, Ayrton, is named after the late Ayrton
Senna, a three-time Formula One World Champion. Their father, Duane,
also raced motocross for several years.
Alesi's mother Lisa recalls, "Alesi wasn't sure at first if she liked drag
racing. But, once she had the chance to race her brother's car, she fell in
love with it. We knew that trying to share seat time would be a challenge.”
Alesi added that she especially enjoys winning and meeting all of the
different people at the races. Proving that IHRA Drag Racing is a family
sport, the Gerthe’s spend their weekends racing. Dad Duane is crew chief
for Alesi, and Mom Lisa handles the duties for son Ayrton.
Ayrton began his racing career in 2001 at the age of nine, enjoys video
games (specifically racing games), paintball and Science and wants to
become an Inventor and Top Fuel driver. His favorite IHRA drivers are
Clay Millican and Terry McMillen.
One of Ayrton's first memories in drag racing was building his first car with
his dad Duane. "We changed the backend to a custom," he explained. "I
really like that everybody in the family is in racing. We get to spend a lot of
time together.” He also enjoys the tight points race and competition of
racing head to head with friend Michael Zampese. "He pushes me a lot - I
like that.” Ayrton took home his first Ironman last season at the 2004 PM-1
Jr. Nationals in San Antonio.
While there are other tracks closer to the Gerthe family, they choose to
participate at the San Antonio Raceway. "Todd and Judy [Zampese] run
their track very professionally and treat the Junior Dragsters very well,"
commented Lisa Gerthe. Alesi recalls the recent national event when Todd
Zampese escorted her family down to stand at the start line during Top
Fuel qualifying. "That was exciting!" explained Alesi. "It's hard to explain
to people the feeling and vibrations when those cars take off."
Alesi brought home her first Ironman in 2004, in just her second year of
racing. She watches the Pro Stock class carefully, hoping to find a seat in
that class in the future and hopes to become an Elementary School
Teacher.
Get Involved
McMillen sees the "Adopt A Junior Dragster" program as a unique
opportunity to give back to the sport. "We've been very blessed over the
years. We've got some of the best sponsors in drag racing including
Amalie Oil, TORCO Racing Fuels, Flatout Gaskets, NGK Spark Plugs, MSD,
Performance Graphics, Powershield Coatings and Crane Cams. This is our
way of giving a little something back to the sport that means so much to
our family."
Teams wishing to get involved in the "Adopt A Junior Dragster" program
who are unsure of how to find a Junior Dragster in their area are
encouraged to contact Sherrie Barbour (sbarbour@ihra.com) at IHRA
headquarters. Junior Dragster teams should follow IHRA.com and Drag
Review Magazine for further details.
© 2005 Hoosier Thunder Motorsports
Tuesday - May 17, 2005
Elkhart, IN - Hoosier Thunder Motorsports team owners, Terry and Rhonda
McMillen, announced today that the Amalie Oil InstiGator team will become
a sponsor for the Division 4 Junior Dragster team of Alesi and Ayrton
Gerthe. Sponsors for the InstiGator, which include Amalie Oil, TORCO
Racing Fuels, Flatout Gaskets, NGK Spark Plugs, MSD, Performance
Graphics, Powershield Coatings and Crane Cams, will support McMillen in
the effort.
Alesi, a 15-year-old Rockdale, Texas freshman and her 13-year-old brother
Ayrton are excited about the announcement. "This is the coolest thing; it's
a big opportunity for my family and me. We're thankful to Mr. McMillen and
all of the sponsors," stated Alesi.
During the Amalie Oil Texas Nationals, McMillen had the chance to meet
the Gerthe family and spend time with Alesi, an aspiring Pro Stock driver.
"This family had an impact on our team," explained McMillen. "After the
race, we thought about how we might help young men and women in our
sport. We came up with a simple idea: "Adopt A Junior Dragster". It's
something we would like to challenge other professional and sportsman
teams to do also."
The "Adopt A Junior Dragster" program is designed to encourage and
support young drivers to excel in school, while at the same time help them
learn about all aspects of drag racing, sponsorship development and
communication. The program will also encourage young drivers to take
the lessons they have learned in school and utilize them in "real world"
situations. Program participants will sharpen their reading, writing and
communication skills, at the same time learning the responsibility and
commitment of running a racing organization.
"Sherrie Barbour (Special Programs Director for IHRA) and her staff have
done a great job developing the Junior Dragsters, commented Rhonda
McMillen. “ Not only is it a great way for families to play together and make
friends with other families, it's also developing the future drivers of our
sport."
Alesi and Ayrton’s cars will carry the logos of their sponsors. They will also
be writing pre-race press releases for each event that they participate and
distribute the press release to their sponsors. "We feel like this is a great
chance to teach youngsters how to prepare a sponsorship proposal and
how to communicate with their sponsors on an ongoing basis," said Terry.
As sponsors of the InstiGator team, Amalie Oil, TORCO Racing Fuels,
Flatout Gaskets and NGK Spark Plugs will supply products in the "Adopt A
Junior Dragster" program with McMillen.
Born To Race
Being in the seat of a racecar might seem more of a birthright than an
aspiration for the Gerthe family. Alesi and Ayrton are named after racers.
Alesi is named after two-time Formula One World Champion Jean Alesi.
Similarly, her younger brother, Ayrton, is named after the late Ayrton
Senna, a three-time Formula One World Champion. Their father, Duane,
also raced motocross for several years.
Alesi's mother Lisa recalls, "Alesi wasn't sure at first if she liked drag
racing. But, once she had the chance to race her brother's car, she fell in
love with it. We knew that trying to share seat time would be a challenge.”
Alesi added that she especially enjoys winning and meeting all of the
different people at the races. Proving that IHRA Drag Racing is a family
sport, the Gerthe’s spend their weekends racing. Dad Duane is crew chief
for Alesi, and Mom Lisa handles the duties for son Ayrton.
Ayrton began his racing career in 2001 at the age of nine, enjoys video
games (specifically racing games), paintball and Science and wants to
become an Inventor and Top Fuel driver. His favorite IHRA drivers are
Clay Millican and Terry McMillen.
One of Ayrton's first memories in drag racing was building his first car with
his dad Duane. "We changed the backend to a custom," he explained. "I
really like that everybody in the family is in racing. We get to spend a lot of
time together.” He also enjoys the tight points race and competition of
racing head to head with friend Michael Zampese. "He pushes me a lot - I
like that.” Ayrton took home his first Ironman last season at the 2004 PM-1
Jr. Nationals in San Antonio.
While there are other tracks closer to the Gerthe family, they choose to
participate at the San Antonio Raceway. "Todd and Judy [Zampese] run
their track very professionally and treat the Junior Dragsters very well,"
commented Lisa Gerthe. Alesi recalls the recent national event when Todd
Zampese escorted her family down to stand at the start line during Top
Fuel qualifying. "That was exciting!" explained Alesi. "It's hard to explain
to people the feeling and vibrations when those cars take off."
Alesi brought home her first Ironman in 2004, in just her second year of
racing. She watches the Pro Stock class carefully, hoping to find a seat in
that class in the future and hopes to become an Elementary School
Teacher.
Get Involved
McMillen sees the "Adopt A Junior Dragster" program as a unique
opportunity to give back to the sport. "We've been very blessed over the
years. We've got some of the best sponsors in drag racing including
Amalie Oil, TORCO Racing Fuels, Flatout Gaskets, NGK Spark Plugs, MSD,
Performance Graphics, Powershield Coatings and Crane Cams. This is our
way of giving a little something back to the sport that means so much to
our family."
Teams wishing to get involved in the "Adopt A Junior Dragster" program
who are unsure of how to find a Junior Dragster in their area are
encouraged to contact Sherrie Barbour (sbarbour@ihra.com) at IHRA
headquarters. Junior Dragster teams should follow IHRA.com and Drag
Review Magazine for further details.
© 2005 Hoosier Thunder Motorsports
| Rhonda and Terry McMillen |
