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January 2002		Volume 27 - Number 6

Louisville 2001

Racing Around Louisville

by Bob Zagami
Associate Editor

Race fans flocked to the Thor America display on Wednesday when word spread that Richard Childress was in the house. Thor America was introducing the Richard Childress #3 Special Edition sport utility fifth wheel trailer.

Childress started his racing career in 1969. He is respected as one of the shrewdest team owners in NASCAR. He has won in all three of NASCAR's elite series including six Winston Cup championships and a Truck Series championship. In the Busch series he won the "Rookie of the Year" honors in 2000 with Kevin Harvick. Harvick came back to win the Busch Championship in 2001 while running a full schedule of races in the Winston Cup series driving the #29 Monte Carlo and finishing ninth in the standings.

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The #29 race car was prominently displayed right behind the Childress sport utility trailer that was outfitted with a racing motif.

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Also in the Thor display area, in the Four Winds exhibit, we found the popular #36 M&M car driven by Kenny Schrader. He finished 19th in the overall Winston Cup point standings and had five top-ten finishes.

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The car of the 2001 Winston Cup champion, Jeff Gordon, was on display in the Dynamax display. Gordon, who won his fourth championship at the age of 30, became the youngest person to win four at such an early age. Just ahead of him are two guys named Petty (Richard) and Earnhardt (Dale) who both won seven championships in their stellar careers. Earnhardt was tragically killed at Daytona 500 in January 2000 and Richard currently oversees Petty enterprises.

Gordon's primary sponsor is Dupont automotive finishes, which also used on the Dynamax family of Class C motorhomes. Dynamax had a 46.7% growth increase through August 2001 year-to-date sales versus 2000. The other 9 Class C RV manufacturers decreased on the average of 21.2% during the same time frame.

The company markets the Carri-Go, Starflyte, ISATA Touring Sedan, ISATA Sport Sedan and the new Grand Sport built on the Freightliner FL-70 chassis with a powerful 300 HP Catepillar diesel engine with 800 ft/lbs of torque.

Dynamax introduced slide-outs to their Carri-Go and ISATA product lines at the Louisville show.

In the Damon booth, Jason Jarrett, 2001 Rookie of the Year in the ARCA RE/MAX series willingly signed autographs during the show. Jarrett drives the #67 Monte Carlo in the ARCA series. He is the son of 1999 Winston Cup Champion, Dale Jarrett and grandson of former Winston Cup Champion and racing legend, Ned Jarrett.

Damon showcased a full body paint Escaper diesel pusher and new styling on their entry-level Daybreak gas motorhome.

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Also in the Damon booth keeping Jason Jarrett company, was motivational speaker D.J. Harrington who conducted a sales seminar for RVDA on Monday afternoon, prior to the opening of the show.