MAHLE Aftermarket Inc. has announced a three-year,
multifaceted partnership with the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) naming
Clevite the official bearing of the IHRA. As part of the agreement, Clevite
also will present a special award at IHRA Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series events
run in conjunction with the Summit Racing Equipment Pro-Am Tour presented by
AMSOIL. The new Clevite Bonus Program will award the winner of each of the
seven major IHRA sportsman classes at those double weekends a $200 bonus and a
special presentation in the winner’s circle.
“We are very excited to bring an
outstanding company like MAHLE Aftermarket into the IHRA family,” said John
Donaldson, IHRA senior director of corporate partnerships. “This is a
relationship that will only grow over the next few years as MAHLE Aftermarket
continues to expand the role of Clevite with the IHRA on a national level.”
The Clevite Bonus Program began with the
Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series event at Bradenton Motorsports Park, April 11-12 and was followed by Rockingham Dragway, May 17-18.
Other events in the series will be at Maryland
International Raceway (June 13-14), Grand Bend Motorplex (June 20-22), Castrol
Raceway (July 4-6) and Cordova Dragway Park (July 18-19).
“We are so excited to be involved again
with the IHRA through this great partnership,” said Bill McKnight, training
manager at MAHLE Aftermarket Inc. “We are very excited about this partnership
and are committed to making this program even more successful by growing our
involvement with IHRA.”
McKnight went on to explain that Clevite
was looking to broaden its involvement with sportsman racers at the IHRA. “Our
first association with the IHRA was strictly with the nitro cars, so this time
we decided to get more involved with the grassroots of the sport and recognize
the winners of IHRA’s seven premier sportsman classes with a cash award and a
special presentation.”
Clevite has been in the bearing business
since 1919 when it first began operations in Cleveland, Ohio. Over the past 95
years, Clevite has grown into a world leader in providing quality engine
bearings and is the No. 1 engine bearing in racing engines, according to MAHLE
every car in every NASCAR and IHRA race is equipped with Clevite bearings.
Owned by German automotive parts supplier MAHLE GmbH, Clevite continues to grow
with research and operations centers in the United States as well as Rugby,
England.