NHRA POWERS UP WITH 'ADE' FROM COCA-COLA COMPANY

By Susan Wade. Photos by James Drew.
Decal illustration courtesy Ian Tocher

Editor's note: The National Hot Rod Association and The Coca-Cola Company's POWERADE brand officially announced a five-year, multi-tiered agreement naming POWERADE as the title sponsor of the NHRA's 23-race national event series, which will be called the NHRA POWERADE Drag Racing Series beginning with the 2002 season. As part of the multi-year, worldwide exclusive agreement, POWERADE also will be the "Official Sports Drink of NHRA." In addition, Coca-Cola classic will become the "Official Soft Drink of NHRA" and DASANI will be the "Official Bottled Water of NHRA."

Rohan Oza likes the words "property" and "leverage."

The senior brand manager for the Coca-Cola Company's Powerade used them a lot after the Dec. 3 announcement that the sports drink will sponsor the NHRA Drag Racing Series for at least the next five years. ("A lot of our bottling partners who'd been fans of the NHRA for years really convinced us this was the right property for us to go with long-term." "You've got to experience the property to understand it.")

NHRA President Tom Compton spoke of partnership, commitment, involvement . . . The Deal.

But it took John Force, who has embraced his humble roots while earning 11 NHRA Funny Car championships, to put a human face on the moment.

"It's the employees who . . . dedicate their lives to working around the clock. They're on the road 11 months out of the year. When they see a championship check put up like this," Force said, referring to Powerade's year-end point fund that will top $3 million, "it only motivates them to work harder.

"It'll be good for them. That feeds their families and builds a future for them."