WILLIAM RAST joins Vision Racing at Long Beach

WILLIAM RAST sponsorship on Ryan Hunter-Reay's car

Gail Miller/AR1.com

Vision Racing is pleased to announce that it has partnered with People's Liberation, Inc. to race the team's No. 21 Dallara/Honda/Firestone machine with William Rast branding in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach this weekend.

In an impressive debut run with Vision Racing for the 2009 IndyCar Series season-opening event on the streets of St. Petersburg, Ryan Hunter-Reay drove the No. 21 machine from the 14th spot all the way to the podium with a second place finish. With a new look, courtesy of William Rast, Hunter-Reay is looking for a repeat performance at Long Beach, Calif. and back-to-back podium finishes to begin the 2009 IndyCar season in style.

"William Rast CEO, Colin Dyne is a good friend and has been very involved behind the scenes and supportive of the efforts to get Ryan (Hunter-Reay) a full season run with Vision," said team owner Tony George. "This week the William Rast branded #21 will debut will with the team for its inaugural run at the "Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach". Throughout the season we expect to see a variety of creative expression coming from this activation."

The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach will be a home race for the pair as Hunter-Reay is a resident of Dana Point, Calif. and William Rast is based out of Los Angeles, Calif. Not to mention, the backdrop of Southern California makes for the perfect setting for William Rast to prominently feature its logo and moniker.

"We are excited to be the sponsor for the #21 Vision racing entry, and to have the opportunity to work with both the George family, and Ryan Hunter-Reay. As a premium lifestyle brand entrenched in the iconography of American denim heritage, William Rast is proud to take part in one of our country's most tradition-rich racing series, and the heritage of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach," says Colin Dyne, Chief Executive Officer of People's Liberation, Inc.

William Rast also joins a strong sponsorship portfolio at Vision Racing which includes the likes of Menards, Lilly, SONAX, IZOD, Johns Manville, Energizer, Moen, Peak Antifreeze, Pittsburgh Paints, Sylvania, SuperClean and Quaker State.

Hunter-Reay will be making his fourth attempt at Long Beach, only this time will be his first in an Indycar as he will pilot the No. 21 William Rast special this weekend.

"I've worn William Rast jeans since before I met Colin [Dyne] and now that we've been working very close over the past couple of months to put a deal together, I'm just glad to see a William Rast car with me driving it; especially after all of the hard work that's gone into it," said Ryan Hunter-Reay of his relationship with Colin Dyne and William Rast. "It's great to represent a brand like William Rast and IZOD, so I'm just pleased with the fact that we have them both involved with the Vision Racing program."

Previously, Hunter-Reay has driven the streets of Long Beach three times for three different teams in the Champ Car World Series. His best finish there is seventh, scored two times in 2003 and 2004. His debut at Long Beach came in 2003 with American Spirit Team Johansson where he started 12th and finished seventh. The following year he drove for Herdez Competition, started sixth, his best start at Long Beach, and finished seventh.