LAWTON, OK (December 5) – Sher-Don Motorsports and Gaerte Engines are excited to announce that Mopar has come on board as an associate sponsor for the 2003 season. The team will exclusively run Mopar Engines built by Gaerte Engines, and Daryn Pittman will again drive the #21 Hop & Sac J&J sprinter with the World of Outlaws next season.
"First thing, I have to do is thank Mopar and Gaerte Engines for coming to us with this opportunity," Donnie Woodburn, owner of the #21, said. "This is going to be a huge plus for our team. When you have a name like Mopar involved with your team, other corporate opportunities may come our way as well. I
really believe Daryn is a bright young man with a tremendous future. I'm confident when he returns from
Australia that he'll be ready to show that last year was just the start of things to come."
The evolution of this relationship began at the Mopar Parts Knoxville Nationals when Gaerte and Pittman
began talking about experimenting with a Mopar. Gaerte Engines built its first Mopar motors in September and saw one in victory lane at The Dirt Track @ Lowe's Motor Speedway the first week of October and the other show promise in Las Vegas.
"We'll start the season with the two motors we ended this season with and then they are coming out with a
new block and heads in the spring," Joe Gaerte, who assembled the motors, said. "They are getting into this thing pretty big. I think this will help not only the Sher-Don team, but our company will probably see a lot of business from this too. People are looking for changes, and this would seem to be as good as any. I think by the time Daryn and Danny Lasoski get going running these Mopars you'll see a lot more guys running them too.
"The blocks are lot more durable, and the parts seem to be a lot more refined and easier to work with. The people at Mopar also have been real receptive to making changes, and that's important to make this become better and better. I really see a lot of potential with this program."
Pittman, who is currently chasing the World Series Sprintcar championship in Australia, had a breakout season in 2002 with the Outlaws winning a career-high six "A" Features. He finished 11th in the point standings despite missing nine events early in the season recovering from a back injury.
"This is a huge deal for us, and it does a tremendous amount for our team," Pittman said. "Mopar is showing a lot of confidence in us and it's great to be involved with one of most well known names in the business. The horsepower we had at Las Vegas was unbelievable and I know their new stuff will be even better. I'm extremely excited to be joining Team Mopar."
Pittman and the Sher-Don Motorsports team open their season with the World of Outlaws on February 21, 2003, at King's Speedway in Hanford, CA. WoO
"First thing, I have to do is thank Mopar and Gaerte Engines for coming to us with this opportunity," Donnie Woodburn, owner of the #21, said. "This is going to be a huge plus for our team. When you have a name like Mopar involved with your team, other corporate opportunities may come our way as well. I
really believe Daryn is a bright young man with a tremendous future. I'm confident when he returns from
Australia that he'll be ready to show that last year was just the start of things to come."
The evolution of this relationship began at the Mopar Parts Knoxville Nationals when Gaerte and Pittman
began talking about experimenting with a Mopar. Gaerte Engines built its first Mopar motors in September and saw one in victory lane at The Dirt Track @ Lowe's Motor Speedway the first week of October and the other show promise in Las Vegas.
"We'll start the season with the two motors we ended this season with and then they are coming out with a
new block and heads in the spring," Joe Gaerte, who assembled the motors, said. "They are getting into this thing pretty big. I think this will help not only the Sher-Don team, but our company will probably see a lot of business from this too. People are looking for changes, and this would seem to be as good as any. I think by the time Daryn and Danny Lasoski get going running these Mopars you'll see a lot more guys running them too.
"The blocks are lot more durable, and the parts seem to be a lot more refined and easier to work with. The people at Mopar also have been real receptive to making changes, and that's important to make this become better and better. I really see a lot of potential with this program."
Pittman, who is currently chasing the World Series Sprintcar championship in Australia, had a breakout season in 2002 with the Outlaws winning a career-high six "A" Features. He finished 11th in the point standings despite missing nine events early in the season recovering from a back injury.
"This is a huge deal for us, and it does a tremendous amount for our team," Pittman said. "Mopar is showing a lot of confidence in us and it's great to be involved with one of most well known names in the business. The horsepower we had at Las Vegas was unbelievable and I know their new stuff will be even better. I'm extremely excited to be joining Team Mopar."
Pittman and the Sher-Don Motorsports team open their season with the World of Outlaws on February 21, 2003, at King's Speedway in Hanford, CA. WoO
