Texas GP gains sponsor

DALLAS (January 30, 2001) -- Leather Center, the nation's leading = manufacturer of quality leather seating, will become the title sponsor of = the 2001 American Le Mans Series season opener at Texas Motor Speedway in = Fort Worth, Tex. The March 4 ...

DALLAS (January 30, 2001) -- Leather Center, the nation's leading = manufacturer of quality leather seating, will become the title sponsor of = the 2001 American Le Mans Series season opener at Texas Motor Speedway in = Fort Worth, Tex. The March 4 event will be known as the Leather Center = Grand Prix of Texas.

As part of its sponsorship, Leather Center will partner with Audi to give = consumers the opportunity to win a new Audi Allroad. Consumers will be = able to register for the contest during March at any of the 11 Leather = Center stores in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

The third season of the ALMS begins with a two-hour, 45-minute sports car = endurance race on the 2.323-mile Texas Motor Speedway road racing circuit. = The course combines part of the speedway's high-banked superspeedway with = a twisting, turning infield section.

Sponsorship of the event marks the first motorsports venture for Leather = Center, which operates more than 100 stores in 32 states. However, the = Dallas-based company has had a previous marketing relationship with the = Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League and is embarking on a new = venture with the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball in 2001 to install = the first-ever section of leather recliners at a major sporting venue. The = national furniture manufacturer has 11 stores in the Dallas/Fort Worth = area and will be promoting the Leather Center Grand Prix of Texas in its = advertising.

The 19-year-old company offers factory-direct delivery of made-to-order = handcrafted leather furniture in a broad range of styles and leather. More = information is available at www.leathercenter.com.

"Furniture manufacturers don't typically sponsor major sporting events, = but part of our success is due to our willingness to use out-of-the-box = marketing to create a brand relationship with our customers," said = Fernando Sanchez, Leather Center's executive vice president of marketing. = "In fact, the American Le Mans Series gives us a great opportunity to = expose our brand of high-quality leather furniture to a tightly defined = audience. But while the race will give us great exposure on national = television, most of the ticket buyers will come from the Dallas/Fort Worth = region, which is where almost 10-percent of our stores are located." =20

"We welcome the participation of Leather Center in our event at Texas," = said Scott Atherton, President and COO of the Panoz Motor Sports Group, = which includes the American Le Mans Series. "We plan to continue to = aggressively pursue other enthusiastic marketing partners that will help = us meet the lofty goals we have for the American Le Mans Series."

The Leather Center Grand Prix of Texas will get the green flag at 1 p.m. = (CST) on Sunday, March 4. Ticket information is available online at = www.texasmotorspeedway.com or by telephone at (817) 215-8500. The race will be televised live on the Speedvision network, and can be = heard on the ALMS Radio Web at www.americanlemans.com.