E3 Spark Plugs News

Speedway Sparkplugs mascot from the School Town of Speedway in Indianapolis.

Any time you conduct an Internet search on “spark plugs,” you get a lot of … well, spark plugs, of course. But sometimes, the search results turn up something a little different. This time, we were pleasantly surprised to discover Speedway Schools, home of the Speedway Sparkplugs. This urban school district is located on the west side of Indianapolis, famous for the 101-year-old Indianapolis Motor Speedway (co-founder Carl Fisher’s first step toward his then-ambitious goal of a “horseless city”) and the annual Indy 500, considered one of the three most significant motorsports events in the world.

The “School Town of Speedway” is an independent public school corporation that serves more than 1,500 students in four elementary schools, a junior high school and a high school. Each of the Speedway schools routinely ranks among the highest in Indiana in various areas including standardized and college prep testing, graduation rates and continuation to higher education. Speedway schools also boast award-winning performing arts, extracurricular and athletic programs.

Speaking of athletics, what better mascot for a school called “Speedway” than a spark plug? After all, it’s the ever trusty spark plug that gets the engine fired up in the first place. Speedway High School has teams for baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, cheerleading, men’s and women’s cross country, football, golf, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, men’s and women’s swimming, men’s and  women’s tennis, men’s and women’s track and field, volleyball and wrestling. That’s whole a lotta Sparkplugs action!

E3 Spark Plugs salutes the Speedway Spark Plugs and wishes them a great 2010-2011 school year! Of course, we invite all you seniors, coaches and staff to try E3 car spark plugs, E3 truck spark plugs and E3 motorcycle spark plugs to get you to class and the games. And if you’re in the racing biz, be sure to check visit the E3 Spark Plugs Racing website to see how to get the competitive edge on the tracks.

Kevin Probst, driver of the E3 Spark Plugs #9 race truck, survived a crash-filled round four at the May 8 Magnaflow Exhaust Off-Road Nationals to finish 14th overall in the Pro 2 Unlimited class. The Surprise (Arizona) off road course had a few surprises for the talented field which included past off-road truck racing champions Rob MacCachren and Carl Renezeder plus former AMA motocross champions Ricky Johnson, Jeff Ward and Jeremy McGrath. Probst qualified the E3 racing truck inside row six and was methodically working his way to the front of the pack when another truck’s flip resulted in the race being stopped due to a red flag.

After the Lucas Oil Off-Road Series event was restarted, MacCachren and Renezeder battled with off-road champ Ricky Johnson for a 1-2-3 finish. Former Indianapolis 500 rookie of the year Jeff Ward continued to show the talent that has earned him championships in AMA Motocross, Supercross and Supermoto as well as a pair ESPN X-Games Gold Medals. The 2009 Lucas Oil Off-Road rookie of the year finished the day in 5th place overall. In the dusty melee that ensued, Probst brought his E3 Pro 2 truck to the checkers to maintain his 11th position in the overall championship hunt.

In the popular Pro 4 class, the current points leader Rick Huseman held off a hard charging Carl Renezeder for the top spot on the podium. The Pro Lite class of the Lucas Oil Off-Road event saw Chris Brandt outlast former series champion and freestyle motocross rider Brian Deegan for the win. Don’t forget to catch Kevin Probst and the E3 Spark Plugs race team in action on July 11th at 2 p.m. EST when CBS Sports Spectacular broadcasts the Magnaflow Exhaust Off-Road National from famed Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah, about 45 minutes west of Salt Lake City.