ANN ARBOR, Mich. – MAHLE Aftermarket Inc. has announced a three-year, multifaceted partnership with the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) naming Clevite the official bearing of the IHRA. As part of the agreement, Clevite also will present a special award at IHRA Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series events run in conjunction with the Summit Racing Equipment Pro-Am Tour presented by AMSOIL. The new Clevite Bonus Program will award the winner of each of the seven major IHRA sportsman classes at those double weekends a $200 bonus and a special presentation in the winner’s circle.
“We are very excited to bring an outstanding company like MAHLE Aftermarket into the IHRA family,” said John Donaldson, IHRA senior director of corporate partnerships. “This is a relationship that will only grow over the next few years as MAHLE Aftermarket continues to expand the role of Clevite with the IHRA on a national level.”
The Clevite Bonus Program began with the Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series event at Bradenton Motorsports Park, April 11-12. Other events in the series will be at Rockingham Dragway (May 17-18), Maryland International Raceway (June 13-14), Grand Bend Motorplex (June 20-22), Castrol Raceway (July 4-6) and Cordova Dragway Park (July 18-19).
“We are so excited to be involved again with the IHRA through this great partnership,” said Bill McKnight, training manager at MAHLE Aftermarket Inc. “We are very excited about this partnership and are committed to making this program even more successful by growing our involvement with IHRA.”
McKnight went on to explain that Clevite was looking to broaden its involvement with sportsman racers at the IHRA. “Our first association with the IHRA was strictly with the nitro cars, so this time we decided to get more involved with the grassroots of the sport and recognize the winners of IHRA’s seven premier sportsman classes with a cash award and a special presentation.”
Clevite has been in the bearing business since 1919 when it first began operations in Cleveland, Ohio. Over the past 95 years, Clevite has grown into a world leader in providing quality engine bearings and is the No. 1 engine bearing in racing engines, according to MAHLE – every car in every NASCAR and IHRA race is equipped with Clevite bearings. Owned by German automotive parts supplier MAHLE GmbH, Clevite continues to grow with research and operations centers in the United States as well as Rugby, England.
