Offspeed Pitch: Richard Petty joins Ken Block, AJ Allmendinger in marketing Ford Fiesta?

Zach Bowman — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Budget, Sedan, Etc., Marketing/Advertising, Hatchback, Ford, Celebrities

Brace yourself, race fans. Things are about to get a little weird. Ford has decided to meld the seemingly unmeldable worlds of NASCAR and rally to help promote the 2011 Fiesta. Ken Block, Richard Petty and AJ Allmendinger have joined forces as an unholy trifecta of motorsports action, unified by their common love of the number 43. We don't need to tell you that Petty famously campaigned old four-three in the heyday of NASCAR, netting 200 Sprint Cup wins and a total of seven championships in the process. Meanwhile, Block has established himself as one of America's flashiest rally drivers, while Allmendinger has inherited Petty's 43 throne in the current NASCAR series.

The three unlikely amigos will be campaigning for the Blue Oval's new '43 Fiestas' sweepstakes, where entrants will have the opportunity to lay their hands on a bevy of prizes. A total of 43 first-place prize winners will walk away with a 40-inch LED-LCD HD flat-screen television, while another 43 grand-prize winners will receive airfare, lodging and tickets for two to the Ford 300 Nationwide series and the Ford 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. If that wasn't swank enough, one of the 43 grand-prize winners will drive home in a 2011 Fiesta.

But wait, there's more. Should Allmendinger happen to take the checkered at the end of the race, all 43 grand-prize winners will win their very own Fiesta. Head over to the 43 Fiestas site to enter for you chance to win. You can also hop the jump for the full press release.

Gallery: Review: 2011 Ford Fiesta SES

Photos copyright (C)2010 Drew Phillips / AOL

[Source: Ford via 43Fiestas.com]

Continue reading Offspeed Pitch: Richard Petty joins Ken Block, AJ Allmendinger in marketing Ford Fiesta?

Offspeed Pitch: Richard Petty joins Ken Block, AJ Allmendinger in marketing Ford Fiesta? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Respect Your Elders: Even Richard Petty stung by Chrysler's bankruptcy?

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 08:29:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Chrysler, Earnings/Financials, Celebrities

Richard Petty - quite possibly the best NASCAR racer of all time and the man in charge of Richard Petty Motorsports - says that Chrysler stopped paying his team after filing for bankruptcy last month. No surprise there. The lack of funds prompted RPM to lay off nine workers, although Petty is now saying there is hope that the automaker will soon work out some sort of deal to begin making payments once again now that it's clear of court proceedings.

It isn't clear at this moment if Petty's team, which is in the final year of its current contract with Chrysler, will soldier on using Dodge ~~Chargers~~ Challengers next year. Earlier this month, The King said his team would be willing to talk to any and all manufacturers regarding the 2010 NASCAR season, including Dodge. We'll surely know soon enough, but internet message boards are awash with rumors the team has been in talks with *gasp* Toyota.

[Source: ESPN via MLive.com | Image: Jason Smith/Getty]

Respect Your Elders: Even Richard Petty stung by Chrysler's bankruptcy? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 08 Jul 2009 08:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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