Winner of the Raybestos '32 Roadster Pickup Announced

Winner of the Raybestos ’32 Roadster Pickup Announced

Vin Paladini's name was drawn as winner from more than 45,000 entries received. He was flown to Las Vegas and shuttled directly to the SEMA show, where the one-of-a-kind hot rod was presented to him in the Ford Motor Co. booth by Raybestos brand representatives, Troy Ladd and the build team from Hollywood Hot Rods, and other build partners involved in the project.

LAS VEGAS — Vin Paladini of Great Falls, Va., considered himself “the luckiest man in Las Vegas” last week, after he was publicly announced as the winner of the Raybestos ’32 Roadster Pickup from the summer 2010 national promotion. From left to right: Troy Ladd shows sweepstakes winner Vin Paladini his new Raybestos ’32 Roadster Pickup while Affinia's Josh Russell looks on.

Paladini’s name was drawn as winner from more than 45,000 entries received. He was flown to Las Vegas and shuttled directly to the SEMA show, where the one-of-a-kind hot rod was presented to him in the Ford Motor Co. booth by Raybestos brand representatives, Troy Ladd and the build team from Hollywood Hot Rods, and other build partners involved in the project.

“I love it, and I’m stunned that in mere months I’ll be its driver and caretaker,” said Paladini. “I’m not going to mind a bit reconfiguring the garage this winter to make room for the new member of our family!”

Paladini will ultimately be given the keys to the hot rod during the Indianapolis 500 weekend in May 2011, taking possession in Gasoline Alley at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Until then, the Raybestos ’32 Roadster Pickup is being photographed for several high-profile magazine and web features, and will tour the car show circuit.

Planned appearances for the hot rod already include competing at the OPTIMA Batteries Ultimate Streetcar Invitational, drag racing at an upcoming PINKS All Out event, and being displayed at the 2011 Detroit Autorama.

The Raybestos Roadster Pickup has been called the ultimate parts hauler and shop truck, and its design was directly inspired by vintage Indy roadster open wheel race cars of the late 1950s and early 1960s.

“Troy and the guys really got excited about the Raybestos legacy in racing, and the performance delivered by our products. They went absolutely wild demonstrating their talent, essentially engineering and building a full-on race machine that was cleverly disguised as an early 60s era hot rod,” said Josh Russell, director of sales and marketing at Affinia Global Brake and Chassis, manufacturer of Raybestos Brakes & Chassis.

During the sweepstakes, a new interactive website, RaybestosGarage.com, offered a behind-the-scenes view of the entire build process. Visitors got the inside scoop on everything from design inspiration, to chassis and suspension fabrication, powerplant selection, brake package engineering, custom paint and finishing work.

Several new Raybestos brand promotions and programs will be announced in 2011.

For more information, visit the Raybestos website.