Pirelli and its partners Chip Foose and Grand-Am Road Racing met in Daytona Beach, Florida this week at the “World Center of Racing” for the advance promotional push for the giveaway of the one-of-a-kind custom Chip Foose-Pirelli Edition Ford Flex.  The giveaway promotion officially begins at this weekend’s Bosch Engineering 250 at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) (April 25, 2009 at 2:30 PM EST on SPEED).

The giveaway marks the first time Pirelli, Foose Design and Grand-Am Road Racing have come together for a nationwide promotion.

“This promotion speaks to the strength of the relationships,” said Pirelli Tire North America Director of Media Communications and Motorsports Rafael Navarro III.  “We work with the best in the business, so with Chip on our team – who is a huge motorsport enthusiast – and partnering with the most exciting sports car racing series in North America, it was easy to find synergies.”

The one-off Foose Design Pirelli Edition Ford Flex features custom paint, wheels, suspension, interior and Pirelli tires.  Displayed by Pirelli at SEMA 2008 in Las Vegas, NV, the Pirelli Edition Flex designed by Chip Foose was one of the stars of the show – and highlighted the lengths to which Ford’s new highway star can be customized.

Fans are invited to participate in the contest by watching Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series races on SPEED throughout the season – beginning with this weekend’s Bosch Engineering 250 at VIR.  Beginning April 25, a special Pirelli Prize Word will be shown on camera several times during each Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series race broadcast; prompting viewers to visit the contest website at www.grand-am.com/foose to read the official contest rules and enter the Pirelli Prize Word(s) for a chance to win the Pirelli Edition Ford Flex.  Contest rules are also available at participating Pirelli Tire dealers across the country. 

Starting this weekend and going through the Grand-Am Rolex Series season-ending event at Homestead-Miami Speedway, October 10, one lucky fan will be selected during each of the next 10 Rolex Series races for his/her chance to win the custom car.  Each of the 10 selected winners will be guests of Pirelli and Grand-Am at the Miami Grand-Am racing season finale where one lucky finalist will be presented the keys that will start the Foose-designed Ford Flex.

“The Flex is a really cool vehicle” said Foose Design President, Chip Foose during a round of media interviews Monday morning at Grand-Am headquarters before that afternoon’s opening commercial shoot. “I had built a full-blown custom Flex for Ford Motor Company about a year before the vehicle was released.  Then, when the production vehicle came out they called me back and said ‘Hey, do you want to do another one of these?’” So I built (the second) Flex for Pirelli’s SEMA display and we debuted it there last November, when Pirelli announced this giveaway with Grand -Am I thought ‘Cool!  When can I go to a race?’”

Foose will star in a nationally televised commercial campaign to support the Chip Foose-Pirelli Edition Ford Flex Giveaway during the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 2009 season.

“This has been an incredible opportunity for us,” said Pirelli Tire North America Vice President of Marketing, Motorsports and OE Sales Tom Gravalos.  “As our relationship with Grand-Am has evolved, and because we have a great relationship with Chip, it was time to put this collaboration together:  fast cars, cool designs and a promotional opportunity for the consumer as well as for the brands.  How do you go wrong with that?”

A native of Santa Barbara, Calif., Foose began working on automobiles at age 7 for his father’s company. His career skyrocketed to the point where he started his own company, Foose Design, in 1998. Foose was the youngest member ever inducted into the Hot Rod Hall of Fame at age 31 in 1997, one of his many awards and accolades.

Pirelli Tire North America designs, develops, manufactures and markets tires for passenger vehicles in both the original equipment and replacement markets as well as markets and distributes tires for motorcycles and motorsports. Located in Rome, Georgia, Pirelli’s Modular Integrated Robotized System (MIRS) employs state-of-the-art technology to manufacture tires for both export and domestic markets.  For more information please visit www.us.pirelli.com.