Courtesy of Texas Motor Speedway Media Relations
FORT WORTH, Texas – Vankor, an independent energy and commodities company headquartered in North Texas that specializes in the trade and distribution of oil and gas, has signed a multi-year deal to serve as the entitlement sponsor for the spring NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race beginning in 2019.
The Vankor 350 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race will be making its debut during the spring weekend for the first time in the history of Texas Motor Speedway. The venue has played host to a truck series companion race each June since it opened in 1997 and added an annual truck series race in the fall two years later.
The Vankor 350 is scheduled for Friday, March 29, and will kick off a NASCAR tripleheader weekend that also features the Xfinity Series My Bariatric Solutions 300 on Saturday, March 30, and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 on Sunday, March 31.
“Our initial partnership with Texas Motor Speedway and Tony Stewart’s dirt event that began this spring has been incredibly successful and we wanted to expand our presence at the speedway and in motorsports,” Vankor Founder and CEO Ken Goggans said. “The Vankor 350 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race entitlement was a perfect opportunity for us to amplify our story and expand our business. We are looking forward to engaging with the loyal and passionate NASCAR fan base as well as identify new business-to-business partnerships.”
The truck race entitlement expands Vankor’s sponsorship portfolio with Texas Motor Speedway as well as providing the company with a presence at both major NASCAR race weekends. Earlier this year, Vankor signed a multi-year agreement to serve as the title sponsor for the Tony Stewart Presents the Vankor Texas Sprint Car Nationals at the Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track.
The dirt event, held in conjunction with the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 NASCAR weekend this past April, now will move to November’s AAA Texas 500 NASCAR Playoffs doubleheader beginning in 2019 to accommodate the truck series race shifting to the spring weekend.
“It makes us proud to see a company like Vankor that makes its inaugural entry into motorsports and immediately sees the value and identifies other avenues to expand their branding opportunities,” Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage said. “The Vankor 350 provides them with a larger presence during next spring’s NASCAR tripleheader weekend and the company also will maintain a presence during the fall NASCAR Playoffs doubleheader weekend.”
