On Friday, Valvoline Co. said it will no longer be the
official oil and fuel supplier for the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway or its new IRL, according to the INDIANAPOLIS STAR-NEWS.
Valvoline spokesperson Martin Kish, on ending the 29-year
relationship: "We were not able to agree on a business deal that
we would continue in our current capacity. I can't get into
details." Valvoline had felt caught in the middle of the fight
between IRL and CART. Mark Coughlin, Dir of Motorsports
Marketing for Valvoline: "It becomes a situation where two
warring parties are saying, 'You're with us or against us.'" IMS
VP Bill Donaldson said they expected "some turnover" with
sponsors with commitments to CART teams. He added, "We are most
confident this will be filled very quickly." Valvoline was
official fuel supplier of the IRL, which has a race scheduled in
Phoenix on March 24. Kish said they have offered to supply fuel
for Phoenix because it would be difficult for IRL to find a new
supplier on such short notice. Donaldson said no decision has
been made on that issue. Valvoline will continue to use Indy-
style racing in its marketing efforts as the company said it will
continue to support Derrick Walker's Indy car racing team, and
will also be a advertiser on ABC's coverage of the Indianapolis
500. CART had no specific comment on the Valvoline move, but
spokesperson Adam Saal did say, "We're obviously delighted with
the support we have from Valvoline" (Bill Koenig, INDIANAPOLIS
STAR-NEWS, 3/16).
