Roy Hill Teams with Alsco for 2011 & Beyond
Courtesy of Roy Hill
SOPHIA, NC – Drag racing icon Roy Hill has teamed up with Alsco, the first company to introduce commercial textile 
services and one of the largest of its kind in the world today, in a multi-year agreement involving both the Roy Hill / Phoenix Racing Ford Mustang Cobra Jet Super Stock team and Roy Hill’s Drag Racing School.
Founded in 1889 in Lincoln, NE, Alsco pioneered the concept of commercial textile services and set the industry standards. Now based in Salt Lake City, UT, Alsco has more than 140,000 customers in North America and 150 facilities worldwide today, and is responsible for shaping the textile services industry.
“At Alsco, we know a few things about being first,” said Jim Divers, Alsco’s Director of Sales and Marketing. “Being first is what drag racing is all about, and our partnership with Roy Hill is sure to be a winner. This is our first involvement in motorsports, and we’re looking forward to increasing the awareness of the types of products and services we can provide to this industry. Understanding the demographics of drag racing and motorsports in general, we recognize the importance of our customers connecting our name with someone in the sport, and we feel that starting with Roy Hill gives us an edge.”
“Alsco is often seen as being only in the linen business, when in fact we won an award in Europe just a few years ago for inventing the uniform business,” Divers continued. “Uniforms are an integral part of the image a racing team projects, and we are eager to help provide that premium image for a wide range of motorsports teams, beginning with Roy Hill and his drag racing school.”
Divers became acquainted with Hill through a mutual friend, and after Divers and his team toured Hill’s shop in Sophia, NC in March, a multi-year agreement was reached to feature the Alsco logo primarily on the school’s three-seater dragster as well as on one of the ten Ford Mustang display vehicles, in addition to secondary placement on the Coca-Cola two-seater dragster and Ford Mustang Cobra Jet Super Stocker. Alsco will also be featured with Coca-Cola and WhereRacingLives.com on a Roy Hill junior dragster that will be displayed throughout North Carolina to promote motorsports-related tourism in Cabarrus County and Concord, NC, the home of Charlotte Motor Speedway and zMax Dragway.
“Once we met with Roy, it quickly became apparent that he was a down-to-earth kind of guy, and that approachability made him a fan favorite,” said Divers. “Definitely someone we wanted to be involved with for our first motorsports venture. We service some of the highest-end accounts in North Carolina, such as Pinehurst Resort and the Biltmore Estate, and this is a logical next step by expanding into what has become one of the region’s biggest industries.”
Wayne Moore, Regional Manager for Alsco’s Charlotte branch, is especially excited about Alsco jumping on board with Hill.
“Having grown up in the area, this is the place to be for any sort of motorsports involvement,” Moore said. “It’s gotten bigger and bigger, and now with zMax Dragway here in town where we can bring clients and our own staff for ride-and-drive sessions with Roy, it makes this partnership almost a no-brainer.”
For Hill, being involved with a large company like Alsco that is so well recognized and respected outside of the motorsports industry came with great rewards, but also great responsibility.
“I just returned from displaying the Alsco Mustang and representing the company at the 2011 National Restaurant Show in Chicago, and it was something altogether different,” Hill said. “Having the only car in the show brought a lot of traffic to Alsco’s booth, and we all know I’ll talk to just about anyone, so it all worked out great. I met so many people outside of motorsports, and I can see where this relationship is going to grow into something big for both Alsco and Roy Hill’s Drag Racing School.”
“We’re putting together a schedule as we speak for me to do the same thing at shows in San Diego and Orlando, and as we progress in this relationship, we both stand to benefit a great deal by introducing ourselves to new customers of our respective businesses,” Hill concluded.
Visit www.royhillsdragracingschool.com for more information about Roy Hill’s Drag Racing School and the team’s 2011 plans.
Photo by Joel Smith / DragRacingNation.com
