Pro Comp Tires Signs on for Racer Robby Gordon’s 2013 SST Series
Pro Comp Tires is partnering with Robby Gordon’s Stadium SUPER Trucks Series (SST) for the off-road racing event’s inaugural season. The televised races are featuring Pro Comp Extreme MT2 tires on participating trucks and 4 Wheel Parts President & CEO Greg Adler is racing in select series events. “Robby has put his heart and soul into this effort, and I’m looking forward to putting my Pro Comp/4 Wheel Parts truck to the test against some of the best in the business,” says Adler.
Team 4 Wheel Parts racer Robby Gordon says “Teaming with Pro Comp is a perfect fit for SST. Their Extreme MT2 tires will be under the stadium spotlights where the cameras never blink.” Gordon’s SST Series features live off-road motorsports action, revisiting the concept forged by legendary racer Mickey Thompson. Pro Comp wheels promise to excel in this updated format with electrifying off-road truck racing on dirt tracks filled with giant jumps, crossovers, and tight corners.
Adler agrees with Gordon, saying “Pro Comp Tires is excited to be a part of the Stadium SUPER Trucks and it’s really the next step to put our tires to the test in the national spotlight on NBC and in crowded stadiums throughout America. We’re excited Robby has put this form of off-road racing back into the stadium setting, and at Pro Comp we really think SST is going to be a huge success that we’re happy to be a part of.”
Twelve 2013 season events are underway at various stadiums nationwide including Soldier Field in Chicago, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and the Metrodome in Minneapolis with Finals in Las Vegas. Plans are to hold one international event. SST events are being televised on NBC via tape delay through the network and the NBC Sports Channel. SST awards a $60,000 nightly purse to winners and a $500,000 purse will be presented to the series champion.
Inaugural Mint 400 Off-Road Vehicle Parade Sponsored by 4 Wheel Parts
Industry-leading retailer of aftermarket parts and accessories for off-road vehicles, 4 Wheel Parts, is scheduled to sponsor the 2013 Mint 400 Off-Road Vehicle Parade on March 20. The inaugural parade in Las Vegas celebrates General Tire’s Mint 400 presented by Polaris. For the first time in history off-road vehicles will be showcased cruising down Las Vegas Boulevard.
The rich tradition of past Fremont Street processions is being rekindled and updated by 4 Wheel Parts. “I was honored to take part in the Fremont Street parades years ago and Team 4 Wheel Parts is extremely proud to be involved in this new inaugural parade,” says Jeepspeed racer Eric Heiden. Heiden started racing the Mint 400 in the mid-80s and says it’s great to see the parade tradition resurrected.
The 4 Wheel Parts Mint 400 Off-Road Vehicle Parade kicks off at Circus Circus Las Vegas Hotel & Casino on Wednesday, March 20 at 3:15 p.m. local time. The route travels three miles south and winds up at Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino. Participants in the event are a segment of the 250+ entries competing Saturday, March 23rd at The Great American Off-Road Race. The Mint 400 has garnered a reputation as the greatest off-road desert race in North America and after a 20 year hiatus it was re-imagined in 2008.
New 4 Wheel Parts Reno Store Gives Glimpse of the Future
On February 16, 4 Wheel Parts opened its 59th store location in Reno, Nevada. As the first 4 Wheel Parts store in Northern Nevada, it features a prototype of the cutting-edge design 4 Wheel Parts plans to adopt at its other stores. With ample space for product displays, the layout encourages customers to go to a wall or an area and get educated about products. Greg Adler, 4 Wheel Parts CEO & President, says “This is the start of what we’re prototyping as some of the newer things we hope to take to all our stores in the future. We want our customers to have the greatest experience possible when they enter the stores and we want to create more excitement about shopping at 4 Wheel Parts.”
Highlights of the brand new Reno store include $2 million in inventory, 8 installation bays, and a total of 10 store employees. “Whether it’s a ring and pinion and an axle or a complete suspension system, our ASE-trained technicians can handle any install” says Reno Store Manager Aaron Mundine. “When customers leave 4 Wheel Parts and get their vehicles on the road, we want to make sure they’re driving with confidence.”
The February 16 Grand Opening showcased giveaways, instant rebates, and exclusive onsite deals. “We had a wall of Smittybilt XRC8 winches on sale and they were gone within the hour,” says Mundine. “Everybody was excited to see the modernized look. We stepped away from the traditional merchandising layout and the changes were really well-received.”
Redondo Beach 4 Wheel Parts Store Ushers in Google Virtual Tour
The 4 Wheel Parts Redondo Beach store recently debuted its Google Maps Business Photo feature, a virtual tour of the showroom displaying the entire layout and allowing users navigability to zoom in or out. The interactive tour is accessible from the Google Maps page and includes high resolution images of products for off-road vehicles. Online users can enter the service facilities to see 4x4s being worked on and get a sense of the particular location’s premises.
Reaction to the novel online feature has been positive. “A customer came in the store and told me he’d checked out the layout on Google and saw we had the winch he was looking for,” says Erik Bauhofer, Redondo Beach 4 Wheel Parts Store Manager. “People seem to like the new online feature.” 4 Wheel Parts has already made the virtual tours available for 22 of its 59 store locations and more are being included. Competitors like Pep Boys are currently not offering Google Virtual tours of their locations.
Google Virtual Tours are ideal for conveniently accessing a brick and mortar store online. Users can zoom in and out, and navigate 360⁰ to interact with a store space and examine products. Images show up on Google in searches, maps, and Google+ and can be embedded on business websites and social media pages.
Two New 4 Wheel Parts Stores Open in Reno and Tulsa
4 Wheel Parts recently grew its number of stores to 59 nationwide with two new store openings. The Reno, Nevada and Tulsa, Oklahoma locations celebrated their Grand Openings on February 16 and February 23, respectively. The events solidified 4 Wheel Parts’ role as a destination for the local off-roading community and featured onsite giveaways, specialty shows, and instant rebates.
Reno Grand Opening special attractions were the 4 Wheel Parts’ Showroom on Wheels, local truck and Jeep clubs, and a car crush. “Our new facility was originally built as a car lot so we have a lot of real estate,” says Reno 4 Wheel Parts Store Manager Aaron Mundine. Tulsa’s Store Manager Corey Marshall says their opening celebration was quite a show. “For the Grand Opening, we had a bunch of giveaways, free food, custom Jeeps, hot rods and great deals on truck accessories.”
The new Reno and Tulsa 4 Wheel Parts stores now feature online Google virtual tours of their showrooms, allowing users to navigate the entire premises. These interactive tours have high resolution images of off-road vehicle products and accessories that users can share via social media.
