Pataskala, Ohio (15 January 2014) – Michael Shank Racing will sport a new livery for the 2014 IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, and the team will once again turn to a trusted partner to bring it to life as the team has grown its partnership with AERO for the 2014 season.
The team first partnered with AEROTM Advanced Paint Technologies, a division of the international, multi-market firm entrotech (www.entrotech.com), ahead of the 2013 season. Launching at the fabled Rolex 24 At Daytona, AERO deployed an entirely new paint technology on the Columbus, Ohio-based team’s Daytona Prototype machines as the podium-earning effort also raised eyebrows with the impressive look that AERO’s LiquidMetalTM application provided.
Michael Shank Racing’s Daytona Prototypes were not only good to look at with the AERO applications, but they also provided a range of other benefits, from weight savings to added protection for the carbon fiber that lies underneath the skin of the Daytona Prototypes.
The partnership with Michael Shank Racing helped fuel growth for AERO, which also has established a customer base in aerospace applications.
“Our ongoing partnership with Michael Shank Racing highlights the quest for a meaningful competitive edge through truly disruptive innovation,” said entrotech CEO Jim McGuire. “Michael Shank Racing has been one of the earliest adopters of AERO Advanced Paint Technology, and while it’s great seeing how fantastic their cars look live and on TV, the true value of what our partnership has brought to bear is in weight savings, aerodynamic gains, maintenance flexibility, and ultimately, performance on the track. Furthermore, Mike and his team have been an instrumental launch pad for our technology within the motorsports community by showcasing exactly what our product offers in terms of on-track capability.”
Michael Shank Racing isn’t the only group to recognize the advantages of AERO, as Boeing’s new Dreamliner airplane also utilizes the technology.
Working with AERO during the 2013 season gave the team additional marketing flexibility, as the team utilized entirely new liveries to reflect partnerships with Roberts Service Group and Dunn Tire, as well as a special “For the Fans” retro-inspired look for the final GRAND-AM race at Lime Rock Park, which featured over 1,000 fan names on the side pods of the Ford/Riley.
“We started this partnership last year and there was a big focus on how good the cars looked, but as we went through the season we kept discovering new advantages so I’m really excited to have AERO back with us again in 2014,” said team owner Mike Shank. “It is great to not only work with another Columbus-based company, but to also help drive growth for them in a new market as more teams see what it can do for them.”
The team will be in action January 23-26 at Daytona International Speedway as the IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship kicks off with the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Tune in LIVE on Fox starting at 2:00 PM ET on Saturday, January 25.
