COOPER TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY’s (NYSE: CTB) expectations were exceeded with an all-out win at the recent Cooper Tire-sponsored NOPI Drift action-packed weekend event held June 23-24, 2007, in Denver, Colo. NOPI Drift – a new fully sanctioned national premier drifting event competition – held one of their biggest shootouts at Coors Field, where top-name drift drivers competed for a large season-ending payout.
With just three races into the season, drifter Bill Sherman and his #22 Enjuku Racing/Dual Audio/Cooper Tire Nissan 240SX dominated the competition. The heat is on and the chase for the victory is getting closer as the Coors Field weekend event is setting the stage for the fourth event of NOPI’s new professional drift series.
The Cooper-sponsored team leads the pack with Bill Sherman topping the overall Championship points standing, delivering a nearly perfect run in Denver. Sherman’s teammate Robby Unser, who was unable to drive in the event due to a new engine program that Team Enjuku is developing for the next Formula D event, served as his chief and driver coach. Sherman also gave a strong performance at the season’s third event, held June 9-10 at the Gateway International Raceway in St. Louis. All Cooper drifters ride on Cooper Zeon high performance tires - tires that give them the added performance and traction they need.
Drifting has become one of the hottest segments in racing. It’s even hotter now that Cooper Tire has partnered with NOPI Drift. Starting with the 2007 season, NOPI named Cooper the official tire of its drift series, where fans will witness a new breed for speed. The excitement of this new series fits perfectly with Cooper’s ultra-high performance products. Cooper supplies NOPI Drift teams with a mix of Cooper Zeon 2XS, Cooper Zeon ZPT and Cooper Zeon Sport A/S tires.
“NOPI Drift is bringing the thrill of drifting to enthusiasts all over the country with nonstop action-packed weekends, ” said Jim Keller, Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “We congratulate our drivers on such a fine performance. With the top drivers wanting to keep their points lead, there will be some extremely exciting competition in the upcoming weeks. ”
Watch for the Enjuku Racing drift team to compete in the next round of NOPI drift, as tires spin at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles, Calif., June 30 and July 1.
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