Hartford, CT (February 3, 2016)- Permatex®, a leading innovator in chemical technology for automotive maintenance and repair, will continue its long time sponsorship of the Follow A Dream Race Team as the team’s corporate sponsor for the 2016 NHRA Championship Top Alcohol Funny Car Series.
The Follow A Dream team enters the new season on the heels of a 2nd place finish in the Eastern Region and a 7th place finish nationally in 2015. The 7th place national finish tied the best finish ever posted by the team. This year marks the 12th consecutive season that Permatex has partnered with Jay Blake and his Follow A Dream Race Team in the NHRA series.
“We’re very proud to continue our partnership with Permatex and we’re excited for the 2016 season to start and to build on our success from last year,” said team owner Jay Blake on the teams upcoming season. “We had a great year, but just missed out on our best finish ever nationally and we want to get there this year.” Over the past six years, the Permatex Follow A Dream Race Team has been in the NHRA Top 10 four times.
Follow A Dream also announced the retirement of Tom Howell, longtime tuner of the Permatex/ Follow A Dream Team cars. Howell has been an indispensible part of the Follow A Dream Team since 2003, and under his guidance, the team has captured a regional championship, four national events, and 10 divisional/regional events including three wins in 2015 with driver Todd Veney.
Howell’s involvement in motorsports spans more than 30 years, including stints with Marc Rowe Race Cars, the Blue Chip IHRA Funny Car driven by Dave Rowe, and the Florence Motorsports dragster driven by Don Florence. He also has extensive experience with Super Modifieds and offshore racing boats. Howell passes the wrench to veteran tuner Anthony Terenzio, who previously guided Mickey Ferro to countless Alcohol Funny Car victories, including five in a row to conclude the 2010 season.
The Permatex Follow A Dream Race Team will compete in the 2016 NHRA series with veteran driver Todd Veney behind the wheel. Veney, an NHRA racer and motorsports journalist, has been with the Follow A Dream team since 2010. He will help the team compete in 13 races this year, across the United States.
Information and season updates on the Permatex Follow A Dream Team can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FollowADreamRacing and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/jayfollowadream.
About Follow A Dream: Follow A Dream Race Team is a remarkable story in itself, and winning at the national level is only part of it. Follow A Dream’s owner and crew chief, Jay Blake, is totally blind. Jay lost his eyesight in a tire explosion over 19 years ago, but he did not lose his positive attitude on life, nor his desire to pursue his dreams. Jay had always wanted to form his own race team, and in spite of his serious setback, he continued to focus on his goals. Through years of incredible determination and perseverance, he was able to realize his dream and founded Follow A Dream Racing. Since then, the team has worked its way up the rankings to become one of the top Funny Car teams in the world.
Jay Blake’s mission to motivate others
While he has worked incredibly hard to build his team, Jay Blake has also worked to encourage others to overcome adversity. He has toured the country as a motivational speaker at community schools, vocational institutes, corporate events, social club gatherings and hospitals, encouraging people to believe that they can rise above adversity and achieve their life’s goals.
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About Permatex: Permatex is a leading manufacturer, distributor, and marketer of premium chemical products to the automotive maintenance and repair markets. Since 1909, Permatex has been an acknowledged leader in the development of innovative new products and services for the automotive aftermarket. Permatex markets a wide range of products under well-known ITW brand names such as Permatex®, Fast Orange®, Spray Nine®, the Right Stuff®, Gel Twist®, Ultra Bond® and Dr Bond®, Ultra Cherry®, and Grez-Off®.
Permatex currently operates in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the U.K. and exports products to more than 85 countries around the world. North American operations include Permatex’s headquarters in Hartford, CT, a state-of-the-art manufacturing, distribution, and technical center located in Solon, OH.
Permatex is a division of ITW (Illinois Tool Works Inc.), a US based, NYSE listed corporation, founded in 1912. ITW is a Fortune 200 diversified manufacturing company.
Permatex Follow A Dream 2016 Race Schedule
March 11-13 U.S. Auto Plus Raceway Gainesville, FL
March 18-20 U.S. Auto Plus Raceway Gainesville, FL
April 22-24 zMAX Dragway * Concord, NC
April 29-30 Virginia Motorsports Park Petersburg, VA
May 27-28 Maple Grove Raceway Mohnton, PA
June 24-26 Summit Motorsports Park * Norwalk, OH
July 1-2 Lebanon Valley Dragway West Lebanon, NY
July 8-10 Route 66 Raceway * Joliet, IL
July 22-23 New England Dragway Epping, NH
Aug. 5-6 Atco Dragway Atco, NJ
Sept. 2-5 O’Reilly Raceway Park * Indianapolis, IN
Sept. 16-18 zMAX Dragway * Concord, NC
Sept. 30- Oct. 2 Maple Grove Raceway * Mohnton, PA
* National event
