@JeffGordonWeb • @CMSnation • #NASCAR • TORONTO, ON // FEBRUARY 19, 2015 • Four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon recently announced that 2015 will be his 23rd and final full-time season of competition. Gordon’s historic decision makes this year’s appearance of his 2015 #24 3M Chevy SS in the Canadian Motor Speedway display at the upcoming Motorama Custom Car & Motorsports Expo, something extra special.
Motorama takes place March 13, 14 & 15 at Toronto’s International Centre. Gordon’s legendary #24 NASCAR Sprint Cup car, in the CMS display, will be one of the show’s centerpiece attractions.
This will mark the fifth time that CMS will present the #24 car at the show, and the first time the team’s new 3M Chevy SS paint scheme will be shown in Canada. Fans can get a close-up look and take photos with the car that Gordon will pilot – with 3M as the primary sponsor – in 11 races in his final, full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup championship campaign.
Continuing a tradition at the show, fans will once again have an opportunity to meet and speak with John Bickford Sr., Vice President and General Manager of Jeff Gordon, Inc., at the CMS display. Bickford is Gordon’s stepfather and has played a significant role in the driver’s illustrious career. In addition to being a four-time Cup Series champ, Jeff Gordon is the designer of Canadian Motor Speedway.
“I am very much looking forward to being at the show again this year,” said Bickford. “We have used the Motorama / Expo weekend to show off new paint schemes three out of the last five years. This will be the first time fans anywhere will be able to get real close to this new 3M car. Our Canadian fan base is pretty special to everybody. It’s a very prideful thing to be able to come to Canada, shake everybody’s hand, make friends, lots of fun things going on. I look forward to it every year and the fact I can retire my extreme cold weather jacket now because I’m coming in March. I know you’re going to have great weather for me instead of eight inches of snow and record cold in Toronto!”
Bickford reaffirms Gordon’s excitement and commitment to the Canadian Motor Speedway project.
“Jeff has very precise and intimate ideas on how he wants the CMS oval designed and built,” Bickford continued. “The system he’s using to put together the numbers for the architects ensures side-by-side racing with lots of passing. He’s working diligently at that. We’re just looking for that opportunity for the next step, and I’m sure we’ll be able to share a lot of those times and dates with fans at the show in March.
“Right now, the team is working on a couple of small details, but I suspect we’re going to have ink to paper as it relates to shapes, styles, the radius of the corners, banking degrees, transitions from banking to straightaways, all those finite details from Jeff all coming together over the next few months, giving us the opportunity to show the fans what Canadian Motor Speedway is going to look and feel like.”
Motorama attendees can also connect with CMS Management and get the latest progress updates and construction plans for the signature speedway designed by Jeff Gordon. Attendees will be able to obtain information about the hiring process, sponsorship opportunities and CMS community programs. The CMS team will also be available for business discussions to explore partnerships and potential opportunities.
“The Expo continues to provide CMS with an excellent and direct link to our fans and the motorsports industry at large,” states CMS Partner and Executive Director Azhar Mohammad. “We are extremely pleased with what our team has put together for this year’s show and we look forward to greeting visitors and sharing exciting plans and updates with them. With John Bickford Sr., Jeff Gordon’s #24 car, and representatives from Niagara College, Aecon, and 3M joining our team, this year’s CMS presence promises to be an exciting and memorable one on so many levels.”
ABOUT CANADIAN MOTOR SPEEDWAY (CMS): CMS is a world-class motorsport and entertainment development in Fort Erie, Ontario. CMS will include industrial, recreational and commercial retail space, as well as a motorsport innovation park in collaboration with McMaster University’s renowned Faculty of Engineering and Niagara College, expanding the build-out to $400 million. The core of the project is a stand-alone “Jeff Gordon Designed Signature Speedway” that includes a ¾ mile banked oval and a 2 mile FIA/FIM grade road course. Initial grand stand seating: 60 thousand, plus 5 thousand enclosed club seats and 40 suites. www.cdnmotorspeedway.com www.facebook.com/cmsnation, or on Twitter @CMSnation.
ABOUT JOHN BICKFORD SR.: John Bickford is Vice President and General Manager of Jeff Gordon, Inc. Stepfather to NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon, Bickford started Gordon’s racing career on a makeshift race track in Vallejo, California in 1976 when Jeff was only 5. At the same time, Bickford started MPD, which is a company that produces products for physically challenged people to enable them to drive cars without the use of their feet. The company also produces race car products. In 1985, he moved east to further Jeff Gordon’s racing, establishing a base in Pittsboro, Indiana. In 1996, following a move from Pittsboro to Concord, North Carolina, he became the Executive Vice President of Action Performance. While with Action, he spent 18 months in Europe working on Formula One and SBK World Super Bike. In 2004, he returned to Jeff Gordon, Inc. where he remains Vice President and General Manager.
ABOUT 3M: The 3M Company is an American multi-national conglomerate corporation based in St. Paul, Minnesota. With $30 billion in sales, 3M employs 88 thousand people worldwide, producing more than 55 thousand products, including: adhesives, abrasives, laminates, passive fire protection, dental and orthodontic products, electronic materials, medical products, car-care products and more. 3M has operations in more than 65 countries including 29 international companies with manufacturing operations and 35 companies with laboratories. 3M products are available for purchase through distributors and retailers in more than 200 countries, and online directly from the company.
ABOUT THE MOTORAMA CUSTOM CAR & MOTORSPORTS EXPO: The inaugural Motorama show takes place March 13, 14 & 15, 2015 at Toronto’s International Centre, adjacent to Toronto’s Pearson International Airport. With a footprint of almost a quarter-million square feet, the show will be Canada’s biggest late-winter celebration of automobiles and motorsports. For information about the show, including sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities, and more, call (416) 962-7223, or email info@MotoramaShow.com. Advance tickets and schedule information can be found at www.MotoramaShow.com.
Media Contact: Erik Tomas, Media Consultant, Canadian Motor Speedway. Office: 905-892-0411 Cell: 289-407-4410 TOMASERIK@aol.com
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