Despite running a limited 2003 racing schedule, Lucas Oil sponsored ATV-rider Chris Dalton dominated the competition by earning three consecutive victories at Tulare Cycle Park in the Sportsman 250 TT class.

Lucas Oil Products was recently named as the exclusive lubricant supplier to the Ford Special Vehicle Team Owners Association (SVTOA). The SVTOA is a national membership-based organization for SVT vehicle owners, Ford Performance vehicle owners and Ford Performance vehicle enthusiasts.

Lucas Oil Products expands their extensive involvement in motorsports to include the AMA Chevy Trucks National Motocross Championship Series. The Lucas Oil Pro Nationals will be held at the Unadilla Valley Sports Center July 19-20 with the Amateur Classic kicking off the weekend Friday, July 18.

Brainerd International Raceway will host the 22nd Annual Lucas Oil Nationals August 14-17. The Lucas Oil Nationals is the 16th event of the POWERade Drag Racing Series schedule and the last race before the prestigious U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.

Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Illinois will host to the 6th Annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals May 29 through June 1, 2003. This multipurpose facility along Historic Route 66 provides a variety of events throughout the year, including two NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series national events, World of Outlaws, USAC Sprint and Midgets, demolition derbies, monster truck shows, bracket racing, car shows, musical entertainment and junior dragsters.

In front of a near sold out crowd at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield, Dennis Setzer took the checkered flag in the Lucas Oil 250. Setzer won for the sixth straight season, matching the mark set by Jack Sprague in 2001. Setzer started 12th in his Chevrolet, and led 105 of 255 laps on the 0.5-mile oval. The winning pass came on the 228th lap, when Setzer used the lapped truck of Travis Kvapil to block the progress of leader Brendan Gaughan's Dodge. Gaughan had led from the 196th lap, when a rain shower briefly put the race under caution for the 12th time.

Gaughan eventually fell to third-place behind Jon Wood's Ford, which trailed the winner by 1.216 seconds -- about 10 truck lengths _ in the second widest margin of victory in nine series races at the track. A 13th caution on lap 250 extended the scheduled distance by five laps. Setzer, however, was able to pull away on the final restart.

Setzer averaged 58.854 mph and won $35,950 from awards of $360,276. He was one of nine leaders who traded the advantage 15 times.

Marion Collins President of Mesa Marin expressed his excitement for the return of the Nascar Craftsman Trucks. “The weekend start to finish showed why the trucks need to race at Bakersfield. The excitement generated by this race demonstrated that with the support of Lucas Oil Products and the people of Bakersfield the NASCAR Craftsman Trucks racing on a 0.5-mile track can put on quite a show.”

Driving the number six truck for Lucas Oil Products was rookie, Brandon Miller, who qualified sixth and finished the 255-lap race an impressive eighth. In his first race ever in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series, Miller put on an excellent show for Lucas Oil with a top ten finish.

“This weekend at Mesa Marin was a huge success for Lucas Oil,” said Tom Fredrickson, General Manager. “Everything from the downtown street festival to the television coverage to the race itself was put together very well.”

One of the fastest growing and most revered lubricant lines in the heavy-duty trucking and automotive industry, Lucas Oil Products, Inc., has become the primary series backer of the American Tractor Pullers Association (ATPA) beginning in 2003.

Today it was announced by the Mayor of Bakersfield, Harvey Hall, that after a one year hiatus, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series returns to it’s birth place, Bakersfield’s Mesa Marin Raceway in 2003. The nationally televised “Lucas Oil 250” is scheduled for Sunday, March 23 at Mesa Marin.

“The Craftsman Truck race at Mesa Marin has become such a big part of Bakersfield, and we could not be more pleased to have the series back at Mesa Marin next March.” Stated Mesa Marin Senior Vice President, Larry Collins.

“NASCAR felt it was important for the truck series to return to Bakersfield, and so did a number of people including Lucas Oil’s Executive Vice President, Bob Patison, Mayor Harvey Hall, Congressman Bill Thomas, Ken Small of Ken Small Construction, Ken Thompson of Rialto Concrete Products, Time Warner Cable’s Joe Schoenstein, Jim Burke Ford and the Bakersfield Convention and Visitors Bureau,” Collins added.

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series has competed at Mesa Marin on nine occasions, including the world debut of the series in an exhibition event on July 30, 1994. The NASCAR truck Ford F-150 prototype was designed, built and tested by the Collins Family on the grounds of Mesa Marin Raceway in the fall of 1993.

“We are very proud of our role in developing the truck series, from the initial design phase, to testing and now to see the series compete annually from Daytona to Bakersfield. It’s been very rewarding,” Collins concluded.

Lucas Oil, a world leader in heavy duty and high performance lubricants will be the title sponsor of the 250 lap NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Mesa Marin on March 23.

Lucas Oil Executive Vice President, Bob Patison remarked, “Mesa Marin Raceway is an outstanding race facility. It is the birthplace of the Craftsman Truck Series so the series needs to race in Bakersfield. Lucas Oil is very proud to bring the truck series home where it belongs.”

The “Lucas Oil 250” will be a culmination of a four day racing festival that will get started Thursday night with a kick off party, at the Buck Owens Crystal Palace, followed on Friday evening when the streets of downtown Bakersfield will be closed off for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Downtown Street Festival – where fans can meet the drivers and see all the rigs and race vehicles up close on display. Saturday night the action will begin with NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series pole qualifying and a NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series 150 lap race under the lights. Then on Sunday afternoon, it will be the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series “Lucas Oil 250”. Tickets may be reserved today. For tickets and event information, call 661-366-5711.

Since legendary Winston Cup Series car owner Junie Donlavey could not make it back to the track in time for his hometown race at Richmond International Raceway, he figured making his return in NASCAR's unofficial hometown would be the next best thing.

Lucas Oil will sponsor Donlavey's Ford Taurus in the UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway near Charlotte, N.C. Donlavey will also receive backing from Suburban Franchise, Superior Logistics Services, and Hawk Sawblades.

Joey Holiday is scheduled to provide musical entertainment at the Lucas Oil truck-A-Rama at Bristol Motor Speedway October 4-5. The Lucas Oil Truck-A-Rama will feature the Tennessee Monster Truck Nationals, the All Truck Show and Drag Race which includes street trucks, imports, 18 wheelers and more.