K&N To Be Title Sponsor For Top Developmental Series

Daytona Beach, Fla – The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) announced today that K&N Engineering, Inc., will be the title sponsor for NASCAR’s top developmental series, formerly known as the NASCAR Camping World Series East and West, beginning in 2010.

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series will continue to crown champions through separate schedules on the East and West Coast. The seven-year agreement illustrates NASCAR’s commitment to the grassroots foundation of the sport.

“K&N is a company that epitomizes the spirit of NASCAR,” said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France. “The developmental series are a tremendously integral part of the past, present and future of NASCAR – from the great champions throughout the years to the pipeline of tremendous racers that have made their way up the NASCAR ladder to our national series. Having a company with the dedication to the sport and the automotive industry that K&N does speaks volumes to the importance we place in the series.”

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series encompasses NASCAR’s oldest stock car series in the West, which dates back to 1954, and the East that has evolved from the former Busch North Series. It runs on a challenging combination of speedways, short tracks and road courses, and the series has made its mark throughout the years with tough competition and exciting racing.

The Riverside, Calif.-based K&N Engineering is the inventor and leading innovator of reusable cotton gauze filter technology for automotive applications. K&N, which has grown from a family-run business to a global company, traces its involvement with NASCAR back to the days of supplying parts for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at the old Riverside Speedway.

“We are thrilled to be the Official Developmental Series Partner and sponsor of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series,” said Steve Rogers, chief executive officer of K&N Engineering. “Our roots in NASCAR go back to the 1970s and this feels like a partnership long overdue. After supporting grassroots and professional racing for decades, we love the idea of supporting a developmental series that provides great racing excitement while developing the top tier drivers of tomorrow.”

K&N will make its on-track debut as the series entitlement sponsor at the 2010 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown – NASCAR’s prestigious postseason event which has earned the moniker of the “Daytona 500 of short-track racing.”

The event will be Jan. 29-30 at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.) and will air live on SPEED and SIRIUS NASCAR Radio.

The all-star event brings together the variety of talent that is the hallmark of the series – the top up-and-coming drivers in NASCAR and the experienced veterans who make the series their home.