CARQUEST BELTS & HOSE PIT PARTY TO USHER IN 2011 SEASON AT STAFFORD MOTOR SPEEDWAY<\/p>\n
(Stafford Springs, CT)—The CARQUEST Belts & Hose Pit Party is a Stafford
\nSpeedway tradition that has spanned the better part of two decades, with the
\nfirst Pit Party taking place during CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend on September
\n30, 1990. The CARQUEST Belts and Hose Pit Party tradition will continue at
\nStafford on Sunday, May 1st as part of the 40th Annual CARQUEST Tech-Net
\nSpring Sizzler pre-race festivities.
\n
\nThat 1990 CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend was the first time that a pit party
\nwas held at a weekly NASCAR track as part of the pre-race festivities. As
\nthe CARQUEST Belts & Hose Pit Party has gained in popularity, the concept
\nhas spread to other area tracks and today is a mainstay in allowing race
\nfans unique access to their favorite drivers and cars. Chris Kopec, Dan
\nAvery, and Tom Bolles, who were each on hand for that Inaugural CARQUEST
\nBelts & Hose Pit Party at Stafford, share their thoughts and memories of
\nthat first Pit Party and how it has grown into the event it is today.
\n\u201cWhat I remember the most is being at the Pit Party with the Modified Tour
\ncar,\u201d said Chris Kopec. \u201cIn the past we had done autograph sessions and
\nthings like that, but the Pit Party was a whole new way for drivers to be
\nable to interact with the fans. No one had ever done anything like the Pit
\nParty. I remember wondering how that first pit party was going to go
\nbecause normally on race day you don\u2019t get to meet the people who are in the
\ngrandstands. Once the Pit Party concept got going and became popular, the
\nfans started showing up early just to be part of the Pit Party and see the
\ncars and drivers up close. The coolest part was seeing kids getting close
\nto the cars and the drivers. Over the years, it\u2019s become a great event. I
\ndon\u2019t think you ever see anyone going back to the grandstands empty handed
\nwith all the different things that drivers are handing out now.\u201d
\n \u201cI don\u2019t recall ever taking part in a pit party before that Fall Final at
\nStafford,\u201d said Dan Avery. \u201cFrom the very beginning, the Pit Party was very
\nwell received by the race fans, kids in particular. As the years have gone
\nby, I think you\u2019ve seen teams expand their level of interaction with the
\nfans with candy, hero cards, and souvenirs to hand out. The fans really
\nseem to get a kick out of the Pit Party and it\u2019s fun for the drivers as well
\nto see the fans.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always fun to be able to see the level of excitement on the fans\u2019
\nfaces during the Pit Party, especially the kids,\u201d said Tom Bolles. \u201cAs much
\nfun as it is for the fans, it\u2019s also fun for the drivers to see and talk
\nwith the fans. I\u2019ve been involved in pit parties with pretty much every
\ntype of car, whether it be SK Modified\u00ae, Busch North, or the Whelen Modified
\nTour, and it\u2019s a great way for the fans to be able to get up close and
\npersonal with the cars and the drivers. The Pit Parties are a lot of fun
\nwith the giveaways the drivers have for the fans, and it\u2019s definitely grown
\nover the years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is often said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,\u201d said
\nMark Arute, Stafford Speedway COO\/GM. \u201cWe have seen the pit party become
\nprevalent at many of the New England race tracks and we take pride in being
\nthe first track to offer our fans the pit party experience. Thanks to the
\nsupport of CARQUEST Belts and Hose, we are able to continue to bring our
\nrace fans the opportunity to get up close and personal with their favorite
\ndrivers and cars.\u201d<\/p>\n
CARQUEST Belts & Hoses are top quality products produced by Gates, the world
\n\u2019s leading manufacturer and aftermarket supplier, covering both domestic and
\nimport vehicles. Many of these products are the same as those specified by
\nOEM\u2019s around the world. The Gates Corporation has been recognized as one of
\nthe leading manufacturers of automotive power transmission products.
\nCARQUEST is a recognized market leader in automotive and heavy-duty
\napplication coverage and known for first-to-market status. CARQUEST Belts &
\nHose customers can rely on the most complete coverage for the majority of
\ntoday\u2019s passenger cars, light trucks and SUVs. CARQUEST Micro-V\u00ae Serpentine
\nBelts offer the latest technology in V-ribbed belt design and construction.
\nThese products are available at your local CARQUEST Auto Parts store. To
\nfind the CARQUEST Auto Parts store closest to you, please visit
\nwww.carquest.com\/store_locator.html.<\/p>\n
The CARQUEST Belts & Hose Pit Party will be held on Sunday, May 1st as part
\nof the 40th annual Tech-Net Spring Sizzler presented by CARQUEST from
\n11am-noon. Tickets for \u201cThe Greatest Race in the History of Spring\u201d are
\nnow on sale at the Stafford Motor Speedway box office. Tickets are priced
\nat $35.00 for adult general admission tickets, $5.00 for children ages 6-14,
\n$38.00 for reserved seats, and free for children ages 5 & under. Tickets
\nare good for admission to the Saturday, April 30, and Sunday, May 1 portions
\nof the Tech-Net Spring Sizzler, with the Friday, April 29 practice session
\nopen the public free of charge. The CARQUEST Belts & Hose Pit Party is open
\nto all CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler ticket holders.<\/p>\n
For more information about CARQUEST Auto Parts Stores or Tech-Net CARQUEST BELTS & HOSE PIT PARTY TO USHER IN 2011 SEASON AT STAFFORD MOTOR SPEEDWAY (Stafford Springs, CT)—The CARQUEST Belts & Hose Pit Party is a Stafford Speedway tradition that has spanned the better part of two decades, with the first Pit Party taking place during CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend on September 30, 1990. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[196,126,197],"tags":[72],"class_list":["post-4659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-connecticut","category-new-england","category-stafford-connecticut","tag-stafford"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4659"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4659\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nProfessional Auto Service, go to www.CARQUEST.com
\nFor more information about Gates Corporation and its products, go to
\nwww.gates.com <\/http:>