WIX® Filters Announces Sponsorship Extension with Team Kalitta for 2018 NHRA Season

Tuesday, 30 January 2018

WIX® Filters, a global manufacturer of filtration products, has announced its renewal with Kalitta Motorsports as a chief technical partner through a major associate sponsorship agreement.



The partnership will expand for the 2018 season as both J.R. Todd and Shawn Langdon serve as WIX Filters’ lead National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drivers, which includes major associate branding on Todd’s DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car and Langdon’s Global Electronic Technology Toyota Camry Funny Car. WIX Filters will also continue to serve as the Official Filters of Team Kalitta with associate branding on the Top Fuel dragsters driven by Richie Crampton and Doug Kalitta.

“Last year, we shifted gears and sponsored a new NHRA team. We had a good feeling about Kalitta, but we didn’t realize just how great this partnership would be,” said Jennifer Gibson, brand manager for WIX. “From multiple moments in the Winner’s Circle to all the support behind the scenes, 2017 was extremely successful. We couldn’t be more excited to continue our partnership with Team Kalitta.”

WIX will see its filters perform in the Top Fuel and Funny Car competition, where cars reach top performance speeds of more than 330 mph in less than 3.7 seconds. Last year, Todd drove WIX Filters to the Winner’s Circle twice, including the biggest drag race in the world, the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.

“We are excited to have WIX back on our DHL Toyota Camry,” said Todd. “It has been great to get to know Jennifer and the whole WIX Filters family this past season. I’m looking forward to winning more races together and cheering on the rest of WIX Filters’ drivers across their other motorsport partnerships.”

WIX Filters will also grow their hospitality presence with Kalitta Motorsports in 2018 with five major activations across NHRA’s extensive reach nationwide. These events bring major WIX Filters customers to the track and allow them to experience the most extreme motorsport up close.

“I am happy to expand my relationship with WIX Filters this season,” said Langdon. “They are a great partner of Kalitta Motorsports and they have so much history in the motorsports world. We are excited for this upcoming season and welcoming many of WIX’s customers to the track.”

“We love hosting WIX’s customers and being able to share our experience with them,” said Rachel DeLago, general manager of Kalitta Motorsports. “The people at WIX Filters have become a part of the Kalitta family and we are excited to be able to host them at more races in 2018.”

For more information on WIX, please visit wixfilters.com.

About WIX Filters

Since 1939, WIX® Filters has been an innovator in filtration products. WIX designs, manufactures and distributes products for automotive, diesel, agricultural, industrial and specialty filter markets. Part of the MANN+HUMMEL family of brands, WIX's product line includes oil, air, cabin interior, fuel, coolant, transmission and hydraulic filters for automobiles, trucks, off-road equipment and manufacturing applications. For more information, visit www.wixfilters.com, or any of our social channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube.

About Kalitta Motorsports:

Based in Ypsilanti, Mich., Kalitta Motorsports is a Top Fuel and Funny Car drag racing team in the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. The team was founded and is owned by drag racing icon Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta. For more than 50 years, Connie has been involved in the sport as a driver, tuner, and an owner. Kalitta Motorsports is one of the most successful teams in the history of auto racing with six world championships and over 100 national event titles in five different professional drag racing sanctioning bodies since it was established by Connie in 1959.

Team Kalitta fields four full-time entries in the NHRA Mello Yello nitro classes. Connie Kalitta’s nephew, Doug Kalitta, pilots the Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster while former Rookie of the Year winner Richie Crampton drives the Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragster. In Funny Car, J.R. Todd is the driver of the DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car and Shawn Langdon pilots the Global Electronic Technology Toyota Camry Funny Car. Connie Kalitta serves as head tuner for all Team Kalitta entries. He is assisted by co-crew chiefs Jon Oberhofer and Todd Smith on the DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car, Nicky Boninfante and Tommy DeLago on the Global Electronic Technology Toyota Camry Funny Car, Rob Flynn on the Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragster and Jim Oberhofer leads the efforts on the Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster.

Associate sponsors on Kalitta Motorsports’ race cars include ARP, AutoDesk CAM, Champion, Cogistics, Darton Sleeves, DHL, Global Electronic Technology, JEGS, Justice Brothers, Kalitta Air, Mac Tools, Racing Electronics, Red Line Oil, SealMaster, Technicoat Companies, TMS Titanium, Toyota, WIX Filters and Ziebart.


Contacts

Christy Marion
704-926-1359
cmarion@wrayward.com

Jennifer Gibson
704-869-3383
jennifer.gibson@mann-hummel-ft.com