EXCLUSIVE - Faulkner makes a wish for successful 2000
7/2/2000 23:04 (Jason Whittaker) - In what is believed to be a world-first, veteran V8 racer John Faulkner is giving race fans the opportunity to become involved in his V8 Supercar operation, in an exciting new concept between himself and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Speaking to no other media outlet but us, John Faulkner Racing exclusively revealed their 2000 plans today, telling us of the innovative new concept which will both fund Faulkner's 2000 Shell Series campaign and support the valuable work of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
In conjunction with the non-profit, charitable organisation, John Faulkner Racing is giving fans the chance to have their name on the grid for this year's Championship Series, with space up for grabs to have your signature on JFR's VT Commodore.
For $50, race fans will have their digitised signature placed on Faulkner's VT Commodore, as well as on the team's show car and race transporter. Families can also have their name hurtling down the straight at over 290km/hr, with $100 buying a spot on the car for a family surname.
Businesses are also being given the opportunity to become involved with the team, with $1000 buying a place for a replicated version of the company's business card to appear on the team's Commodore, show car, and transporter.
Those who sign up will receive special members-only benefits, including a certificate, discounts on JFR merchandise, and the chance to win the ride of your life with Faulkner in the JFR VT Commodore.
Most importantly, 10% of the funds created by the initiative will be donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation to contribute to making the life of terminally-ill children a little brighter.
For the Faulkner outfit, who have struggled over the past few seasons from lack of sponsorship, the opportunity to both better fund their racing campaign, and support the work of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, was an opportunity they couldn't refuse.
"JFR and the Make-A-Wish Foundation have been looking at doing something together for some time now, and we have tried different concepts that would get other companies involved," sponsorship coordinator Alyson Faulkner said.
"So we formulated a concept that would achieve two objectives; both to fund our V8 Supercar campaign, and to raise awareness of the fantastic work the Make-A-Wish Foundation is doing across Australia."
"Not only does the M.A.W. Foundation receive 10% of all funds raised, but we are working closely with the organisation on different measures to raise awareness and greatly-needed funds through gala dinners, sweepstakes, hot laps competitions, general donations, merchandise etc."
"It is a deal that greatly benefits both John's racing year, and the Foundation," she concluded.
The partnership between JFR and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, combined with the signature initiative, has provided a much-needed boost for the team on the eve of the opening round of the Series, with the Faulkner garage confident they have the funds to mount a serious title campaign.
Faulkner will run last year's VT Commodore for the first two rounds of the Series, before the team's new VT Commodore is completed late in April.
Quizzed on who would pilot the second Faulkner machine, Faulkner said, "There are several possibilities at this point - we have had a lot of interested drivers - but nothing that we can confirm yet. There will, however, definitely be another JFR car out there early in the championship"
Both Cummins and Holden will continue their support of Faulkner and his efforts.
"Cummins are still very supportive and are behind us with this new concept 100%. They will continue on with the same financial input that they have contributed throughout our V8 Supercar involvement," Faulkner said.
The new-look JFR Make-A-Wish Signature Racing Commodore will hit the Phillip Island track on Friday in preparation for Race 1 of Round 1 beginning on Saturday afternoon.
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