For the second consecutive race season, ExxonMobil and Rush Truck Centers are sponsoring Tony Stewart’s No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) Chevrolet. Both brands will be featured on Stewart’s racecar – Rush Truck Centers on the hood and Mobil Delvac 1 on the rear quarter panel and deck lid – for the Alabama 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, helping to promote a program highlighting the need for more truck technicians and saluting these vital behind-the-scenes professionals.
Before they hit the road to Talladega, Stewart and his No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil Delvac 1 team will visit a Charlotte-area Rush Truck Centers location to learn from technicians and help perform a diesel motor oil change. The visit coincides with a discounted Mobil Delvac product and oil change promotion, available at all Rush Truck Centers locations nationwide during the month of October*.
“As a follow-up to last year’s partnership with Rush Truck Centers, which saluted truckers, it’s with great pride that we again spotlight a collection of unsung heroes crucial to the NASCAR experience and to the American economy – technicians,” said Kai Decker, global motorsports manager at ExxonMobil. “Joining Rush Truck Centers and Stewart-Haas Racing to raise the visibility of these professionals handling critical roles largely behind-the-scenes is a cause worthy of our full support and participation.”
Experienced truck technicians have never been more vital. The American Trucking Association estimates that an additional 200,000 technician professionals will need to be developed over the next 10 years to meet service maintenance demands industry-wide. Concurrently, it is expected that 40 to 50 percent of truck technicians will retire before 2030.
“It’s essential we raise awareness of the importance and necessity of America’s truck technicians so that a new wave of talent can be groomed to keep trucks up and running,” said W. M. “Rusty” Rush, chairman, chief executive officer and president of Rush Enterprises, which operates Rush Truck Centers, the largest network of commercial vehicle dealerships in North America. “The partnership and support of Stewart-Haas Racing and ExxonMobil ensures that our message is impactful. For that, we’re very grateful.”
Through a Technician Referral program, existing Rush Truck Centers employees have been encouraged to recommend a new technician, with a lucky participant winning a trip to Talladega Superspeedway to watch Tony Stewart pilot his No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil Delvac 1 Chevrolet in the Alabama 500 live. In addition, for each successful hire, the technician who made the referral is eligible to receive $1,000.
“The number of technicians needed over the next 10 years to keep the industry going is truly astonishing, and it’s important that we shine the light on the crucial work they do as we develop the next generation of technicians,” Stewart said. “The average racing fan watching at home may not understand all that goes into making a NASCAR race happen each week. It requires a whole fleet of expert technicians who work wonders before the race ever begins. We’re so thankful for them.”
Fans can see behind-the-scenes footage of the No. 14 team’s Rush Truck Centers visit by following @Mobil1 and@RushTruckCenter on Twitter throughout the Talladega race week.
The Alabama 500 will be broadcast live from Talladega Superspeedway on NBCSN at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 23.