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Feb. 9, 2008: Nur Ali drives to globalize stock car racing as the first Asian to compete at Daytona! |
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Open-wheel veteran and recently turned stock car driver Nur Ali made his competitive stock car debut Saturday at the hallowed cauldron of racing known simply as Daytona. Ali took to the track in the #45 Tara Energy sponsored Cunningham Motorsports Dodge Charger. In doing so, Ali added a critical component to stock car racing’s latest push for globalization.
Commenting on Ali’s transition to stock cars, Adil Jafry, CEO of Tara Energy said, “Ali’s entry into ARCA creates exciting opportunities for Tara Energy to reach customers who enjoy stock car racing and we anticipate that his loyal open-wheel racing fan base will follow him to the excitement of Daytona.”
Ali’s stock car debut at the 45th running of the ARCA Daytona 200 drew one of the largest and most competitive field of drivers thus far. As the week began, 65 teams came to Daytona vying for an opportunity to qualify for the big race. With only room for 43 cars on the starting grid, Ali and Cunningham Motorsports felt confident about their chances going into qualifying. During qualifying, drivers were allowed one lap to get up to speed and two hot laps to determine whether or not their teams would race or go home. Despite dealing with radio and communication issues, Ali nevertheless managed to qualify in 35th position.
On race day, Ali was amazingly calm and relaxed. The weather was warm and sunny, a perfect Florida day for racing. As the day progressed, the track became increasingly crowded with fans. An autograph session was held at the noon hour, and fans surrounded Ali seeking autographs and photos.
Charged with taking Ali to Daytona for his stock car debut was the seasoned ARCA team of Cunningham Motorsports. The overall race strategy was to make certain that Ali cleanly got into the draft at the start of the race and avoided the inevitable multi-car pile up. The car itself was setup for drafting on the 2.5 mile Daytona International Speedway and in order to gain the most speed, Ali would have to quickly adapt to the stock car style of racing. As the green flag dropped, Ali did not hesitate to make his case and rather naturally slotted the #45 car into the draft.
Working within the draft, Ali began picking off one car after another, battling his way up to 23rd position. Shortly thereafter, several cars directly ahead of Ali got involved in a minor incident challenging Ali’s open-wheel instincts just to avoid the impact. In a breath taking maneuver, Ali steered clear of any contact by driving through the grass between pit road and the front stretch drawing a cheer from the crowd. Regaining his position following the first yellow flag of the race, Ali continued his onslaught rapidly moving up the chart from 23rd to 17th. As part of the pre-race pit strategy, Cunningham Motorsports crew chief wisely instructed Ali to remain on the track during the next yellow caution flag while other teams elected to pit. As a result, Ali advanced his position, moving up to 7th place.
As the green flag dropped and the race resumed, Ali lit up the track, consistently setting some of fastest lap times of the entire field and clocking out at over 185 mph in the draft. As the crew looked down the chart, Ali was setting a fast pace and had settled into a top 15 running position. Ali continued to set fast lap times and ultimately wound up with one of the fastest lap times for the entire race.
As expected, the major red flag incident of the race came on lap 30, when two cars bounced off one another, triggering a multi-car pileup involving some 16 cars. Though Ali successfully eluded two prior accidents during the race, Ali’s car sustained damage when flying debris punched a hole in the radiator.
Determined to get Ali back out on the track to finish the race, the Cunningham Motorsports team worked diligently to replace the radiator in the garage and tape the car’s damaged hood closed. After approximately 15 minutes in the garage, Ali returned to the track with a bruised #45 car. Upon returning to the field in 32nd place, Ali continued where he left off setting strong lap times and finishing the race in 23rd position.
After the race, Ali and the Cunningham Motorsports team were thrilled with the results given mid-race red flag incident. “Wow, what a rush! It was everything I expected and much more. The entire experience was a blast and the team gave me great equipment to start the race and they did an awesome job to get me back on the track,” said a jubilant Ali following the race. “We are very pleased with Ali’s inaugural performance at Daytona. Although he finished in 23rd, he was running strong in the top 10 prior to getting caught in a crash around lap 30 and he was consistently one of the fastest cars on the track. Ali has the ability to compete successfully in the ARCA RE/MAX series and we look forward to working with him,” said Kerry Scherer, Managing Partner of Cunningham Motorsports.
Later that evening at a dinner hosted by Ali’s sponsor Tara Energy, Nur finally had an opportunity to unwind and reflect on the weekend with his family, friends and executives from his marketing team at Fluent Communications Worldwide.
About Tara Energy
Tara Energy (“Tara”) is one of the largest independent retail electricity providers in Texas. Tara is empowering its customers by providing competitively-priced electricity and outstanding personal service. Tara is also energizing communities by supporting causes that matter to its customers through sponsorships and innovative contribution programs. For more information about Tara, visit www.taraenergy.com
About Fluent Communications Worldwide, Inc.
Fluent Communications Worldwide, Inc. (“Fluent”), is an innovative marketing, advertising, and research firm specializing in culturally relevant solutions for maximizing brand potential and increasing market share for its clients. Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas and Toronto, Canada, Fluent has developed proprietary tools and methods to understand, create, motivate and capture entire communities though cultural marketing. For more information about Fluent, visit www.fluentcommunications.net
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