DieHard® Brand Announces Sponsorship as Official Battery of NHRA

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill., Oct. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The DieHard brand, America's most trusted battery, is now the Official Battery of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). DieHard Platinum Batteries will start Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars – the most powerful engines in motorsports, with 7,000 horsepower (HP) in each engine.

Terms of the multi-year sponsorship agreement were not disclosed, but the sponsorship includes a DieHard Starting Area that authentically integrates the DieHard brand with top fuel dragsters as they "start up." This includes two DieHard "starting carts," shaped like DieHard batteries, containing eight DieHard Platinum batteries. Each starting cart weighs 1,100 pounds and is 78 inches long by 65 inches wide by 40 inches tall. The starting carts are capable of starting 140 nitro methane-powered Top Fuel dragster and Funny Cars before needing to be recharged. The sponsorship also includes commercial inventory during NHRA eliminations broadcast on ESPN2 and sponsorship of the "DieHard Race Week Start-up" on NHRA.com each week.

Also, as Official Battery of Don Schumacher Racing (DSR), the DieHard brand will receive operational support from DSR at the NHRA events. DSR will build, design and maintain the DieHard starting carts for use by the NHRA race teams to start each Top Fuel and Funny Car Class.

"NHRA fans have a 'do-it-yourself' attitude, so this partnership is a great fit strategically," said Guenther Trieb, president of Brands at Sears Holdings Corporation. "NHRA fans are more likely to have visited an auto parts store in the past year than fans of any other major sport. In addition, beyond their passion for NHRA, they are outdoor enthusiasts. Four of the outdoor activities preferred by NHRA fans – hunting, power boating, fishing and camping – require a battery," Trieb added.

"With DieHard Platinum Batteries starting these 7,000 HP engines, we feel the NHRA is the ideal venue to showcase the legendary power and reserve capacity of  DieHard batteries," said George Kurkowski, DieHard brand manager.

"We are extremely pleased to have DieHard batteries join the NHRA family of sponsors," said Tony Driscoll, NHRA vice president of sales. "DieHard batteries began their relationship with NHRA at the start of this season as the primary sponsor on Matt Hagan's Dodge Charger Funny Car and for one of the most trusted brands in the automotive industry to expand their footprint to the league level as the Official Battery of NHRA less than a year later is a tremendous endorsement of NHRA."

The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series runs 23 races from February through November, reaching 33 of the top 50 DMAs in the United States, with up to 125,000 spectators attending each race.

About the DieHard brand

Introduced in 1967, Sears designed the DieHard battery to produce 35 percent more usable starting power than other similar batteries. Consumers consistently rate the DieHard brand as "most trusted," "dependable" and "performs in extreme conditions" by overwhelming margins, according to a 2009 Battery Brand Tracker Survey.  The DieHard brand has continued to lead with innovation by introducing the DieHard Platinum battery in 2007.  The DieHard brand's AGM technology gives it 40% more reserve capacity and 28% more Cold Cranking Amps than comparable spiral-wound AGM batteries.  That's one reason why the DieHard Platinum battery has been ranked #1 by a leading consumer publication four years in a row.  These are the very same batteries used at the starting line for Top Fuel and Funny Cars at each NHRA National event. For more on DieHard, including its sponsorship of NHRA, Don Schumacher Racing and the Matt Hagan team, as well as how to select a battery, visit DieHard.com and follow DieHard on facebook.

About NHRA

Headquartered in Glendora, Calif., NHRA has 80,000 members and 140 member tracks nationwide.   As the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States, NHRA presents 23 national events featuring the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. Two NHRA-sanctioned bracket racing series provide competition opportunities for drivers of all levels: the NHRA Summit Racing Series and the NHRA Drags: Street Legal Style presented by AAA.  NHRA also offers the Jr. Drag Racing League for youth ages 8 to 17.   In addition, NHRA owns and operates five racing facilities: Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Atlanta Dragway in Georgia; National Trail Raceway in Ohio; O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis; and Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Southern California. For more information, log on to NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

SOURCE Sears Holdings Corporation