May 11th, 2019
Kansas City, Kansas
Around 11:30am CT Saturday morning, Würth employees showed up at Kansas Speedway to prepare for the arrival of colleagues and customers who would be joining their hospitality area from 1pm through the start of the race at 6:30pm.
As the forecast looked uncertain early on, they constructed eight 10 x 10 ft pop-up tents to protect guests from potential wet weather, filled four coolers with beverages, arranged an attractive display of Würth products for the Automotive / Woodworking industries, and set up several games for guests to enjoy.
Fifteen long-stemmed pink roses we’re delivered to be presented to all the moms in attendance wishing them a Happy Mother’s Day and thanking them for choosing to spend their Saturday night with us at the track. (Not bad for a race that wasn’t on Würth’s primary-sponsored schedule at the beginning of the season)
Before the race, 2012 NASCAR Champion and the most winningest driver in Team Penske history, Brad Keselowski, visited with guests at the Würth hospitality area and talked about what fans could expect to see today. He talked about the impact of drafting – which is when one car uses the air pocket from the car in directly in front of it to accelerate past it. Since the weather was about 50 degrees, Brad also told the group how cool weather actually increases the engine’s horsepower and enhances a tire’s grip on asphalt. We were in for a great race!
Before Brad departed for the Driver’s Meeting to go over safety, rules, and information he took the time to sign autographs for all the children in attendance. And, with just a week and a half of planning, the event came together quite nicely.
“When Team Penske presented us with the opportunity to have another primary-sponsored race we didn’t think twice. We immediately began coordinating with our customers and the brand in mind. I’m extremely grateful for everyone who got involved especially Carla Handshaw, Jeff Jacobson, Dave Cabot, Stephen Roberts and his team. They put forth a lot of time and effort to ensure our guests had a memorable experience.” - Matt Florian, Marketing Manager, Wurth USA
The rain never fell but at the end of race the red and white confetti did. In what many NASCAR fans regarded as “the most exciting race of year” across social media, Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Würth Team came out on top! The victory was Brad’s third of the season and 30th of his career.
While the No. 2 Würth Ford Mustang sports a brand new paint scheme for the 2019 season courtesy of Thomas Wesbecher, Graphic Designer & Multimedia Specialist at Wurth USA - the car never looked better than it did on Saturday night in Victory Lane covered in champagne and Miller Lite.
"I will never forget that night watching Brad blister the tires off his car and having my paint scheme emerge through the smoke with the American flag hanging out the side, fireworks going off in the distance. This was the feeling of checking off a bucket list item at an early stage in my career. It was a feeling I will never forget but struggle to describe." - Thomas Wesbecher
Thank you to our customers, employees, partners, and Team Penske fans around the world for continuing to inspire us with your passion. We share this victory together with you.
Check out @wurthracing on Instagram for behind the scenes content from Kansas! Würth hits the track again on October 6th at Dover International Speedway and finally on November 3rd at Texas Motor Speedway!
I like how Brad said "approaching 50°" just to let the reporters and competitors know that drafting wasn't the only thing going on, more oxygen in 50° than 70° and when his car quits pushing it is passing on by.