Carlos Contreras, who terminated his relationship with HRT Motorsports, will be racing a 16 race schedule in Mexico in 2004. Contreras will race in the SELCA series, a stock car series in Mexico with NASCAR affiliation. In a separate move, Contreras recently entered into an exclusive arrangement with Vazquez Marketing Group (VMG, Inc.) to represent his NASCAR driving services and related interests. Vazquez, who resigned from HRT late December 2003, and Contreras, will together pursue an array of opportunities for Contreras in NASCAR, including Busch and NEXTEL Cup Series competition. VMG’s objective is to find Contreras a position with a top, multiple car team to add a diversity element to its platform, without sacrificing performance. Contreras and Vazquez plan on bringing their ability to engage and target the Hispanic audience (together they brought over $600,000 in additional Hispanic media to his car sponsor for the 2003 season finale race at Homestead Miami) to a top team with a core NASCAR fan base and create a unique offering for NASCAR sponsors seeking to grow their consumer base by including the burgeoning Hispanic market. Regarding his “new” relationship with Contreras, Vazquez says, “During my time at HRT I tried relentlessly to find sponsors for Carlos. There was plenty of interest in Carlos as a driver and in our Hispanic outreach, but because HRT was considered by many as “new and unproven”, it was difficult getting those key sponsors to fund Carlos at the level of participation we needed. We believe that teaming Carlos up with a winning organization will put sponsors at ease knowing that they will find the success on the track to compliment and drive success at the cash register. Fewer perceived risks, and greater rewards that is what the sponsorship world is calling for, and that exactly what we are giving them.” Contreras is currently in Mexico preparing for his first race in his home country since 1999. For more information on Carlos Contreras and available opportunities, please contact Mike Vazquez of the Vazquez Marketing Group at (305) 986-3313 or via email at [email protected].(PR)(2-11-2004)
