The Commodores of Todd and Rick Kelly will be backed by luxury duty free chain DFS Galleria for the first two rounds of the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series in the Middle East.
Jack Daniel’s Racing has attracted new sponsorship from DFS, the world’s leading luxury retailer catering for the travelling public, for the events in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain.
DFS has over 200 stores around the world, including stores in both Australia and Abu Dhabi.
The round DFS logo will replace the ‘Old No 7’ logo on the bonnet of the black #7 and #15 Commodores, while ‘Jack Lives Here’ branding has been approved to replace Jack Daniel’s on the bonnet, doors and rear bumper and rear wing of the Todd and Rick Kelly’s cars.
Todd Kelly, who will debut a brand new chassis in Abu Dhabi, was excited to add a new backer for the Middle East double header, having re-signed Jack Daniel’s over the off-season as well as adding SuperMax Razors, Harley-Davidson, Mack Trucks and Powerbuilt Tools to the team’s sponsorship portfolio.
Kelly’s new car, KR-01, ran in its DFS – Jack Lives Here livery at Winton’s test day on Monday, where team-mates Jason Bargwanna and Rick Kelly set the two fastest times of the day.
“Our new livery looks great, I’m debuting a brand new car in Abu Dhabi and now we are welcoming a new company to our racing program in DFS, so these are certainly exciting times for us,” said Todd Kelly.
“I know that all the drivers and crew members travelling to the Middle East will have plans to do some duty free shopping, so we will definitely be seeking out the DFS store in Abu Dhabi during our trip.”
Todd and Rick’s cars should stand out in the twilight races under lights in Abu Dhabi, with the team’s new livery featuring reflective white sections on the bonnet and doors.
The team’s familiar Jack Daniel’s Racing livery will return for the first Australian event of the 2010 season at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide on March 11-14.
As previously reported, Bundaberg Red Racing will run ‘Extra Smooth’ logos in the Middle East, while the three Dick Johnson Racing Falcons will run signage in support of Prostate Cancer Research to replace their Jim Beam (Steven Johnson and James Courtney) and Canadian Club (Jonothan Webb) logos.
The Bottle-O Race Team Ford of Paul Dumbrell will also have to make changes, removing the Victoria Bitter logos from its #55 Falcon.
Kelly Racing is yet to confirm driver and sponsorship arrangements for its fourth entry, the #16 Holden Commodore, with Dale Wood testing the car at Winton on Monday.