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SPORTS MARKETING NEWS, PRODUCTS AND EVENTS FROM LINCOLN ELECTRIC  March 2013 

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DANICA PATRICK MAKES HISTORY, MAKES PROGRESS By: ESPNRacing

Patrick became the first female to win a Sprint Cup pole but was overtaken on the first lap in the 55th running of the Daytona 500. But by pitting for fuel only under caution early in the race, she took the lead on a restart and led Laps 90-91, becoming the first woman to pace green flag laps in NASCAR's top series. She eventually led twice for five laps. Janet Guthrie, in her brief NASCAR stint, had led five laps under caution at Ontario (Calif.) Speedway in 1977. In 2005 as an IndyCar rookie, Patrick became the first female to lead laps in the Indianapolis 500, also setting gender records for starting and finishing fourth. She finished third there in 2009. As usual, she preferred not to filter accomplishments in gender terms, saying that becoming the 13th driver to have led laps in both the Daytona and Indianapolis 500s is "a much cooler stat for me." According to ESPN research, she is just the sixth driver to have led at least five laps in both events. "Honestly, when I say that I wanted to lead at some point, it was just because I was disappointed I didn't do it off the bat like I thought I should have," said Patrick, who raced in the top 3 much of the day and was never scored worse than 11th position. "So it didn't really have to do with being a girl and leading. "I'm honored. But, again, these are things that just happen along the way. I'm on the quest to be the best driver, run up front, get to Victory Lane. These things happen, and I'm proud, but they're not the ultimate goal." There was no ill will between Patrick and Earnhardt Jr., said her crew chief, Tony Gibson, just intensity at an intense moment. After the race, Patrick complimented Earnhardt Jr.'s strategy, and he proclaimed "she's a racer. She knows what's coming. She's smart about her decisions." He said Patrick would "make a lot of history all year long." Gibson saw from the outset of his assignment as crew chief the historical relevance of their endeavor. He saw Sunday as the first step in creating something even more profound. "Every week we're going to get better and better and better," he said. "There's going to be some bumps in the road, but we're willing to suck those up and go on and get us some high notes. I am so proud of her. "She kept her head for a week and a half and, you know? … To come here and run all day long, to be the first woman to sit on the pole for the Daytona 500, the first woman to lead a lap in the Daytona 500 is pretty damned impressive, and the highest finish … so what else you gonna get from that?" History, for sure, out of madness. Total madness.

Pole-sitter Danica Patrick made a little more history, becoming the first woman to lead a lap in the Daytona 500 when she charged to the front on Lap 90. She led five laps altogether.

The Daytona 500 attracts more than just millions of TV viewers and thousands of spectators, but celebrities as well. Lincoln customers got a chance to meet some of them at this years event. Left— customers attending Sunday mornings garage tour ran into the host of “The Price is Right”, and Cleveland native, Drew Carey. Right— winners from a sales contest ran by Kerry Bodnovich and the Great Lakes sales office met with 2010 Daytona 500 Winner, Jamie McMurray, who gave them an insight of tactics and what to watch for during the race.

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March 2013 

SCHUMACHER, CAPPS CAPTURE WINS FOR DSR IN ARIZONA By: NHRA.com

Lincoln Electric is the exclusive welder of Don Schumacher Racing

Tony Schumacher won a wild tire-smoking final round against Morgan Lucas to claim the Top Fuel victory at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Int'l Raceway. Ron Capps (Funny Car) and Erica Enders-Stevens (Pro Stock) also were winners at the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event near Phoenix. Schumacher raced to his 70th victory and fourth at FIR when he was able to get his 8,000-horsepower U.S. Army dragster under control and finish just in front of Lucas’ charging GEICO/Lucas Oil dragster. Both dragsters lost traction early in the side-by-side race, and both drivers were on and off the throttle as they navigated the dragstrip. “When you can win ugly like that it is so much fun,” said Schumacher, who beat Sidnei Frigo, Khalid alBalooshi, and Antron

Brown in earlier rounds. “Both cars were set up to run really fast, and we both lost it and smoked the tires. It was lift, pedal, lift, pedal all the way down. I could hear Morgan beside me the whole time. As a driver, that kind of race is so much fun, and I enjoy winning like that more than a record run.” It was the fourth consecutive final-round appearance for Schumacher dating back to last season, and he moves into the series points lead with the victory.

“Four finals in a row; it’s unbelievable that our team is that good,” Schumacher said. “Win No. 70. I like that number. I was stuck on 69 for a long time.” In Funny Car, Capps earned his 39th victory and third at this event, outrunning Matt Hagan in the final round. Capps powered his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger to a 4.064 at 314.90 to finish in front of Hagan’s Mopar/Rocky Footwear Charger, which trailed with a 4.158 at 300.33. Capps reeled off a series of quick runs in the mid-4.0-second range in early round-wins over Tony Pedregon, Cruz Pedregon, and Tim Wilkerson. His machine was just as quick in the final round over Hagan. “This new car really likes to be planted early, and so [crew chief] Rahn Tobler has been working on a new clutch package,” Capps said. “In [the final qualifying session] yesterday, we finally found out what it really liked. And when you give Tobler a new combination, he’s going to bracket-car it to death.” With the victory, Capps moves into the series points lead. With back-to-back final rounds to open the season, Capps says his NAPA team is picking up right where it left off last season. “We are starting to feel like we are getting into the same rhythm that we were last year when we went to six finals in a row,” Capps said. “I think that both Rahn and I built up some confidence in each other [with our runner-up] at Pomona, and now here.”

Jerry Siko, John Weber, and customers from Schuff Steel, Agate Steel and Pipetrades 469 talk to 15-Time Champion John Force prior to his run.

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Lincoln Electric is an Official Sponsor of The Professional Bull Riders

March 2013 

HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE PBR? BY: pbr.com

THE RIDE:

The total score possible for a bull ride is 100 points. Half of that total is based on the performance of the bull and how difficult he is to ride. Judges look for bulls with speed, power, drop in the front end, kick in the back end, directions changed and body rolls. A body roll occurs when a bull is in the air and kicks either his hind feet or all four feet to the side. The more of these characteristics a bull displays during a ride, the higher the mark is for the bull. Judges are allowed to award a cowboy a re-ride if they feel the bull did not perform at the level of other bulls in the competition and, therefore did not give the rider a fair chance to earn a high score. Only the sport's best bucking bulls are used at the Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series events. PBR Livestock Director Cody Lambert works with more than 20 stock contractors - the people who own and lease bulls to the PBR - to ensure that the pool of bulls used at each event are the highest caliber possible. Most Built Ford Tough Series events feature an estimated 75 bulls that are supplied by as many as six different PBR stock contractors. The other half of the ride is determined by the rider's ability to match the moves of the bull beneath him. Judges look for constant control and good body position throughout the ride. Spurring the bull is not required but extra "style points" are awarded for doing so. The rider must stay aboard the bull for eight seconds. The clock begins when the bull's shoulder or hip crosses the plane of the bucking chutes and stops when the bull rider's hand comes out of the rope or he touches the ground. The bull rider must ride with one hand and is disqualified if he touches himself or the bull during the eight-second ride.

THE EVENTS:

The Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series consists of regular-season events and the World Finals in Las Vegas. Riders earn points at each Built Ford Tough Series event based on three things: their ride scores, their finish in each round, and for their overall finish in the event. The first-place finisher in a round receives 100 bonus points. Riders placing second through 10th receive points on a graduated scale down to 10. For a two-day event, the Top 10 riders following Round 1 will advance to compete with one more bull the first night. Following the long round on the second day, the riders with the 10 highest scores will advance to the Built Ford Tough Championship Round, where they will compete with one more bull. For a three-day event, the Top 10 riders following the long round on Day 2 will advance to compete with one more bull. Following the long round on Day 3, the riders with the Top 10 highest scores will advance to the Built Ford Tough Championship Round, where they will compete with one more bull. The overall event winner is the rider with the highest combined score on all of his bulls. The first-place finisher in a two-day event receives 300 bonus points; riders placing second through 10th receive points on a graduated scale down to 30. The first-place finisher in a three-day event receives 400 points; riders placing second through 10th receive points on a graduated scale down to 40.

THE JUDGES:

The judges who officiate events are hired based on strict and extensive qualifications maintained by the PBR Board of Directors and members. Additionally, PBR members have established a judging committee that regularly meets to discuss performance and accuracy when judging. Each Built Ford Tough Series event employs five judges. Four judges have 50 points to distribute for each ride (25 points for the bull and 25 for the rider). The total from each of the judges is added together then divided by two to get the rider and bull score. The fifth judge, positioned on the announcer stand reviews replays in the event of an infraction or when a contestant challenges a ruling. The decision of the replay judge is final.

Upcoming Sports Marketing Events - March / April

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March 2013 

Point Person: Brian Soder NASCAR Credential Request Form

(Sales Reps Only)

Point Person: Mickey Holmes mickey_holmes@lincolnelectric.com

(Sales Reps Only)

Point Person: Tommy Dickinson IndyCar Credential Request Form

(Sales Reps Only)

March 10 Kobalt Tools 400

March 17 Food City 500

March 24 Auto Club 400

April 7 Virginia 500

April 13 Texas 500

April 21 STP 400

April 27 Toyota Owners 400

Las Vegas, NV

Bristol, TN

Fontana, CA

Martinsville, VA

Fort Worth, TX

Kansas City, KS

Richmond, VA

March 14-17 Gatornationals Gainesville, GA

April 5-7 SummitRacing.com Nationals Las Vegas, NV

April 19-21 Dollar General 4 Wide Nationals Charlotte, NC

April 26-28 O’Reilly Auto Parts Spring Nationals Houston, TX

March 9-10 Tacoma Invitational Tacoma, WA

March 16-17 Table Mountain Casino Invitational Fresno, CA

March 22-24 Ty Murray Invitational Albuquerque, NM

April 5-7 Make Something Great Invitational Billings, MT

April 13-14 Bass Pro Chute Out Louisville, KY

April 20-21 Des Moines Invitational Des Moines, IA

April 26-27 DeWalt Guaranteed Tough Invitational Boise, ID

March 24 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg St. Petersburg, FL

April 7 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama Birmingham, AL

April 21 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Long Beach, CA

Point Person: Tommy Dickinson NHRA Credential Request Form

(Sales Reps Only)