Hawk Performance Joins Team Penske IndyCar Program in 2014
Hawk Performance will serve as primary sponsor for the No. 2 Team Penske IndyCar at two events and three races in 2014 – the dual race weekend on the streets of Toronto, Ontario, July 19-20 and the series race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on August 3. The high-performance friction product manufacturer will also be an associate sponsor for the balance of the season and the company’s logo and branding will be featured on the front wing of the Team Penske machine driven by Montoya for the remaining 15 races that make up the 18-race IndyCar Series schedule in 2014.
While this marks the first primary sponsorship opportunity with Team Penske for the company that designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of products, Carlisle has been a member of the organization’s partner lineup since 2011.
“Carlisle Companies is a well-established global brand that has become integrated into Team Penske over the last several years," said Roger Penske. “We are pleased to grow the partnership to include their Hawk Performance brand as both primary and associate sponsors of the No. 2 IndyCar. Our race cars already feature many of the products manufactured by Carlisle so this is the type of collaboration we are very proud of at Team Penske."
The Colombian-born Montoya, the 1999 CART champion and 2000 Indy 500 winner, makes his return to American open-wheel competition this season after competing in NASCAR and F1 for the last 13 years.
“This continues to be a dream situation for me as I move back to IndyCar," said Montoya. “My goal was just to race for Roger Penske but to have great companies like Carlisle and Hawk Performance come on board to support our program is very humbling. I will be working very hard to get them to Victory Lane this season."
“We are excited to be able align the Carlisle performance brake brand with such a successful program as the Team Penske IndyCar Series team," said Carlisle Chairman Dave Roberts, a racer himself that competes in sports car and off-road racing. “The Penske relationship has been quite impactful thus far. With the addition of a driver the caliber of Juan Pablo Montoya we are confident that we will continue to compete for race wins in 2014."
The 2014 IndyCar Series begins with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (Fla.) on Sunday, March 30. Live television coverage on ABC will begin at 3:30 pm ET.