MRP REVIVES OLD NAME & NEW LOGO FOR SBRP FACILITY

TOP KARTING FACILITY HAS BEEN RENAMED MICHIANA RACEWAY PARK

[09/29] NORTH LIBERTY, IN – MRP Motorsport announced today that a new logo and name will replace South Bend Raceway Park (SBRP) as the moniker that has been used for the North Liberty, IN facility for nearly 15 years. MRP Motorsport had used the Michiana Raceway Park name for their .25-mile track located in Buchanan, MI until it was renamed Rolling Green Raceway last year. The Michiana Raceway Park (MRP) name will now be featured at the North Liberty karting facility with a new identity.

“I have to thank Curt Paluzzi, editor of National Kart News, for the name we have used for nearly 20 years,” said MRP Motorsport President, Garry Lobaugh. “He suggested we let people know where we were and what we did, hence the Michiana Raceway Park name. As years went on, the MRP name has been utilized as our brand name in nearly every aspect of our company.”

The eventual move to refurbish and rebuild the 30-acre North Liberty property formerly called South Bend Raceway Park was the initial step in the project started in March of 2004. It was a transition year for the facility and company. Through this period the focus was on improvements to the property and professional full-time staffing for racers as well as entertainment programs. The start of 2005 found similar experiences in entertainment exercises out of MRP of Austin, one of MRP Motorsport’s other property partnerships and pro-shop locations, which coincided with the needed work to ramp up exposure of the North Liberty property. Marketing, networking, chamber activities and a local advertising campaign were implemented to initiate a broader market awareness of the final product.

The Michiana region is a large part of the company’s customer base because the facility caters to racers from all over the Michigan, Indiana & the Illinois borders. Once the Buchanan, MI racetrack was renamed Rolling Green Raceway (RGR), the MRP name was available to continue the rebuilding of karting’s popularity in the Michiana area.

“All through this effort the goal of MRP was to build a sense of pride in belonging to the MRP Championship Race series, said Lobaugh. “The national events with WKA and RotaxMax allowed us to showcase the management talents and skills of the entire MRP staff and give local racers a place to shine.”

Michiana Raceway Park recently hosted two large karting events, with the WKA Manufacturer’s Cup & the 2005 U.S. RotaxMax Grand Nationals both being successful. Looking forward, Lobaugh looks to introduce karting to thousands of new people rather than the hundreds that might attend a kart track. In the years ahead the focus will be to maintain a high profile in customer entertainment programs, corporate training efforts and to continue to build relationships with new kart racers through a variety of strategies.


ABOUT Michiana Raceway Park (MRP): In 2004, MRP purchased South Bend Raceway Park, a 6/10th mile paved asphalt road course, considered one of the premier facilities in the U.S., located among the farmed fields of west South Bend. The facility boasts a well stocked pro-shop and offers arrive and drive, corporate entertainment and training programs for groups and individuals. MRP was also the host track for the 2005 U.S. Rotax Max Grand Nationals to be held September 22-25. Visit www.sbrp.com for more information or call (574-288-4922). For background about MRP Motorsport, visit our website at www.mrpmotorsport.com.