Bill Pierre Ford

• As the grand prize winner of the third-annual Monsters on Mainstreet contest, Michelle Stockton, of League City, Texas, hosted her own hometown Monster Jam® show Saturday at the Houston Motorsports Park.
• Stockton was one of more than 40,000 Monster Jam fans who entered the contest.
• Ford Truck’s alliance with Monster Jam enables the brand to connect with customers in a personal way.

DEARBORN, Mich., July 31, 2008 – Michelle Stockton had a weekend she and 1,000 of her closest friends and family members will never forget, courtesy of ‘Built Ford Tough’ Trucks and Monster Jam®.

As the grand-prize winner of the third annual Monsters on Mainstreet contest, Stockton, of League City, Texas, hosted her very own hometown Monster Jam show Saturday at the Houston Motorsports Park.

“It’s hard to explain how it feels unless you’re there,” she said. “I guess you feel a little famous.”

Stockton was one of more than 40,000 Monster Jam fans who registered to win the once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Earlier this year, she and four finalists flew to Las Vegas for the Monster Jam World Finals in Las Vegas, where she won the grand prize by randomly selecting the key that started a Super Duty® F-450.

“When I turned the key and saw the lights come on in the truck, I couldn’t believe it,” recalled Stockton. “I was in shock for winning, but I was really excited for my son because I knew he would really enjoy this event.”

Stockton says she and her husband have been Monster Jam fans ever since their 9-year-old son Ryan was born.

“You get it through your child’s enjoyment,” she said. “We’ve taken him every year since he was two, and he just loves to see the drivers do the freestyle and tear the trucks up.”

Stockton says Ryan had the time of his life on Saturday.

“He brought his best friend along with him, and they came down to the floor with us and helped us say, ‘Ladies and Gentlemen start your engines,’ which is a really big thing,” she said. “He was thrilled.”

Ryan’s third-grade classmates at Gilmore Elementary School in League City were there cheering him on. They were the first to receive an invitation to the big event.

“I’m known as the lunch lady at school because I work with the kids in the cafeteria,” she said. “Now I think I’m going to be known as the monster truck lady.”

To round out the 1,000 tickets, Stockton extended invitations to the rest of the school, her family and all of the people from her church parish.

The festivities began on Friday with a parade down Main Street in League City.

“We got to ride in the back of the Ford Blue Thunder monster truck,” said Stockton. “It was unreal. Everybody was honking at us and waving.”

On Saturday, Stockton, her family and friends and 4,000 charity guests enjoyed their own Monster Jam show followed by an autograph session with the Monster Truck drivers.

“The best part was just being able to sit down and have one-on-one time with the drivers,” she said.  ”Ford Motor Company provided us a personalized experience that we will never forget.”

According to Todd Eckert, Ford Truck marketing manager, Ford Truck’s alliance with Monster Jam enables the brand to personally connect with customers.

“With today’s consumer, you need to go beyond just base advertising and reach consumers in unique ways,” he said. “Monster Jam is a great way for us to reach customers and provide them with more information about our trucks, and since the competition involves tough trucks in extreme performance situations, it is a good fit for the Built Ford Tough brand.”

More than 30 percent of F-Series customers either attend or watch Monster Truck events on television, says Eckert, and Ford Truck leverages its connection to Monster Jam by having two teams compete in the actual racing and freestyle events with Ford’s monster truck Blue Thunder.

“Blue Thunder is one of the most popular trucks, and our drivers, Linsey Weenk and Tony Farrell, are true fan favorites,” he said.

Stockton says hosting her own hometown Monster Jam was the experience of a lifetime.

“You just can’t put it into words,” she said. “It was a blast.”

– New Tires at Mid-Ohio, Matos confirmed for Petit –

July 17, 2008 (Irvine, Calif.).  It is the mark of honesty when racing partners decide that while they plan to continue, some of the work needs to be done away from the race weekend.  Earlier this week B-K Motorsports, Mazda North American Operations and Yokohama Tire Corporation made a collective decision to regroup in their ALMS effort.  From the Mid-Ohio weekend through the end of the season, the B-K Motorsports Lola B07/46 Mazda MZR-R will race on Dunlop Tires.

Robert Davis, Senior Vice President, Product Development and Quality, Mazda North American Operations, remarked “The ALMS is one of the most challenging series in the world, and the only top-tier series that has open competition between engine manufactures, chassis builders, and tire companies.  Mazda values our long-term relationship with Yokohama Tire Corporation.  While we made a collective decision to alter our near-term strategy, it by no means alters our valued partnership with Yokohama Tire which extends to OE fitment tires on many Mazda vehicles.  We hope that the use of the Dunlop tires will allow the team to better assess the other key components of our program as we seek to challenge Porsche and Acura.”

Third Driver for Petit Le Mans Confirmed

Raphael Matos, often referred to as the poster boy for the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Driver Development Ladder has been confirmed for the ALMS Petit Le Mans race at Road Atlanta on October 4th.  Matos will be the third driver joining Ben Devlin and Gerardo Bonilla.  Matos has won championships in Skip Barber (2003), Star Mazda (2005), and Atlantics (2007), all steps in the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Driver Development Ladder.  Matos has driven with the B-K team in both 2006 and 2007.

About Mazda:
Mazda is the brand of choice for road-racers across North America.  More than 9,000 grassroots racers compete in various classes with the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and the National Auto Sport Association (NASA).  Racers who are years away from earning a driver’s license can now begin their professional motorsports careers in the Mazda family.  A driver can begin in karts and progress through the Skip Barber series, Club Racing Formula Mazda, professional Star Mazda and finally to Formula Atlantic, all with Mazda.  No other car company has ever connected the dots this way.

On any given weekend, there are more Mazdas on the road-race tracks of America than any other brand of vehicle.  At the track, you’ll see MX-5 Miata, RX-8, MAZDA3, MAZDA6, RX-7 and other vintage Mazda models competing, because every Mazda has the Soul of a Sports Car.  In fact, the largest road-racing class in the world is Spec Miata, with more than 1,500 first- and second-generation Miatas tearing up America’s racetracks, making it the most-raced production car in the world.  Mazda’s involvement in motorsports extends to its relationship with Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, one of the world’s premier road-racing circuits, and the Skip Barber Schools for driving and racing.

Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., Mazda North American Operations oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States, Canada and Mexico through nearly 900 dealers.  Operations in Canada are managed by Mazda Canada, Inc., located in Ontario, Canada, and in Mexico by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City.