KV Racing Technology to announce new sponsor

UPDATE This rumor is upgraded to 'fact' today. Three years shy of legal driving age, Angie's List has taken the wheel of one of the fastest cars in the world by signing on as primary sponsor of the No. 5 entry in the Indianapolis 500 mile race this Sunday and will be an associate sponsor for the remainder of the 2008 IndyCar Series season.

The Angie's List Special Honda/Dallara/Firestone car will be driven by KV Racing Technology’s Oriol Servia, a Miami resident and one of the company's newest members. Servia qualified 25th and will start in the ninth row on Sunday. The sponsorship is the Indianapolis-based company's first step into the auto racing world but an expansion of its national advertising plan first launched in 2007.

"Angie's List has been on a pretty fast pace these past two years. With this partnership, you might say we've stepped on the gas again," said Angie Hicks, founder of Angie's List, the nation's leading provider of local service company ratings.

Hicks established Angie's List 13 years ago, initially going door-to-door to sign up members. The company now employs more than 350 people and provides service to more than 650,000 members across the country. Angie's List, traditionally a source for home improvement contractors, also offers local ratings for mechanics, auto care, auto sales and more than 330 other categories of service.

"Angie's List knows what it takes to build a winner and we're going to be working hard to earn top grades on Sunday," said Kevin Kalkhoven, co-owner of the 6-year-old Indianapolis-based KV Racing, which will compete for the first time Sunday in the IndyCar series. "We are very pleased to have Angie's List on our team."

KVRT co-owner Jimmy Vasser said, “It is fantastic that KV Racing Technology has the opportunity to work with a local Indianapolis based company like Angie’s List. Local interest and support is key to the success of any race, any series and in the end to the teams."

Servia, a 33-year-old native of Pals, Catalonia, Spain, who is making his first appearance at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, will become just the second Spaniard to start an Indianapolis 500 when the green flag drops Sunday.

05/21/08 Rumor has it that KV Racing Technology will announce tomorrow that Angie’s List is sponsoring an Indy car this year for the first time in the local company’s history. The No. 5 car will be dubbed the "Angie’s List Special"