Sean O'Bannon Topeka preview

O'Bannon ready for national event debut with a new look in Topeka

TOPEKA, Kan. - NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car rookie Sean O'Bannon has his eyes set on a strong national event debut for the Tequila Patrón/Forest River RV's backed team during this weekend's O'Reilly Summer Nationals presented by Castrol GTX at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kan. O'Bannon will make his national event debut behind the wheel of a Funny Car at the same track he won Top Alcohol Dragster honors last year. His 2007 Dodge Charger will also be adorned in the orange and black colors of Patrón Reposado line of Tequila while teammate Alexis De Joria will carry the familiar green and black colors of Patrón Silver.

O'Bannon, 28, of Fontana, Calif., is eager to get his Sam Shockley and Randy Anderson tuned machine on a national event track. Earlier in the month the team made their competition debut at a Division 7 event in Fontana, Calif., where the team qualified for a tough eight car show and nearly won the first round.

"I am a new funny car driver and this is a new car," said O'Bannon. "But we have some really experienced Crew Chiefs here at Jack O'Bannon Racing that have a history of tuning some fast hot rods. So as a driver, it's exciting for me to get behind the wheel of a car tuned by them on a national event prepped track. We gathered some good data at our first race in Fontana a few weeks ago, and we're looking forward to making some more laps this weekend."

O'Bannon also cites that fans won't have a problem telling the two team cars apart this weekend.

"When we came out earlier in the year I had the dragster and Alexis drove the Funny Car," explained O'Bannon. "So we both went with the Patrón green and black colors. Now that we're both racing in Funny Car, we'll be promoting the Patrón Reposado line of Tequila. My car will be orange and black now, with her's being the green and black. We're really looking forward to this weekend."

Qualifying begins on Friday for the alcohol cars. Qualifying will resume Saturday morning with one final session, followed by first round of eliminations in the afternoon. Final eliminations will conclude the event on Sunday.

About The Patrón Spirits Company:
Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, the company's eight distinctive products now share the Patrón label; Gran Patrón Platinum, Patrón Añejo, Patrón Reposado, Patrón Silver, Patrón XO Café, Patrón Citrónge, Pyrat Cask 23, Pyrat XO Reserve. Each brand is the finest in their category. The newest, Gran Patrón Platinum, is an extraordinary triple distilled pure tequila. Patrón Tequila is today, the world’s number one ultra premium tequila. In 2004 & 2005, Patrón Tequila was recognized with the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences Five Star Diamond Award. Patrón is the first spirits brand ever to receive this prestigious honor. Patrón Tequila continues to set new sales records every year.



To find out more about Jack O'Bannon Racing's quality partners, visit these websites:



www.PatronSpirits.com - Find out more about the world's number one tequila - Tequila Patrón.



www.ForestRiverInc.com - Find out more about America's largest producer of towable RV's and Cargo Trailers.

Contact: Will Hanna/Pro Race Communications
Email: Will.Hanna@InsideTopAlcohol.com