Rose Cup Promises to be One Mother of a Father's Day for Local Cindi Lux

SRT Works Driver Combines Black Rock Coffee, Slacker to Go for Prestigious Portland Event

ALOHA, Ore., June 11, 2012 – The Portland Rose Festival's Rose Cup Races have become a tradition in the Northwest as closely tied to the annual city celebration as any other activity. Cindi Lux has never known any other way to spend the June weekend but at the region's largest gathering of racers. The Aloha, Ore.-resident's father, Dick Hahn (Yakima, Wash.), won the inaugural event 52 years ago and in 2011 Lux became the highest-placing woman in the history of the Rose Cup Feature Race by finishing third. This Father's Day, Lux will attempt to join her Dad on the list of storied winners when she rolls out the No. 5 SRT Viper Competition Coupe Fueled by Black Rock Coffee against a daunting cast of characters who specialize on the 1.967-mile, 12-turn Portland International Raceway road course. The 45-minute race pitches a wide-variety of nearly unrestricted racecars against one-another on June 17 and assures to live up to its tradition as one of the most hotly contested club events of the season. It promises to be one mother of a Father's Day when the green flag falls for the top event of the multi-race weekend.

Lux again brings an exciting group of partners to the Rose Cup this year. Chief among those is the return of the SRT Viper Competition Coupe to the Northwest’s most celebrated club event. First through its Dodge brand and now with SRT, the Viper platform has had a dominating racing history since 1989. Lux first piloted the V10-powered machine in 2005 dominating the SCCA Club T1 category with SRT10s until 2007. For 2008, the Oregon Motorsports Museum Association Lifetime Achievement Award-recipient moved into the SCCA Pro World Challenge Series with the Viper Comp. Coupe. In 2012, she returns to the factory driver ranks with SRT driving a freshly-built Competition Coupe while also overseeing the two-car Viper ACR-X “Celebrity Program” in the SRT Viper Cup.

Lux has raced the Viper platform three times in the Rose Cup. In 2009, she brought the World Challenge-ready Viper Comp. Coupe before turning to the then-new ACR-X in 2010. Last year the 1999 Women’s Global GT Series Champion returned to the Competition Coupe. Earlier this year, SRT – now a stand-alone marque under Chrysler – announced both a new-for-2013 road going Viper and the SRT Viper GTS-R for American Le Mans Series GT racing competition. The move highlights SRT’s commitment to top-level motorsports through its road-going product line.

Fueling Lux is Black Rock Coffee Bar (www.BlackRockCoffeeBar.com). First teaming together in 2011’s Rose Cup, Black Rock found the event and partnership with Cindi Lux so successful they have upped their on-site commitment and support. The Portland-based Black Rock Coffee Bar roasts its premium blend of coffee locally ensuring the freshest espresso possible. Endeavoring to find the perfect balance of flavors, Black Rock pushes the boundaries of what is possible with the daily cup of ‘Joe’, to stir things up a bit and to throw a little edge on the coffee biz.

Black Rock brewed its first coffee at its first store in Beaverton in early 2008. Today, they span from Seattle to San Diego with nine Black Rock stores in the Portland-area and continued substantial growth planned in the coming months.

Since 1995, Slacker Inc. (www.SlackerInc.com) has showcased the creativity, attitude and spirit of a brand through grassroots marketing and motorsports. Originally begun as a clothing line, the company quickly moved into vehicle graphics and apparel for race teams across the country. The products and services have expanded over the years to include embroidery, screen-printing, logo design and marketing activation.

The Rose Cup weekend brings over 400 drivers across multiple races in multiple classes to the PIR circuit. Lux will compete for the overall Rose Cup title just as her father did in 1961 when he won the inaugural race. The category is a rare exception to today’s highly “spec” car racing series. Entries are widely divergent ranging from thoroughbred racecars to road based entries – like Lux’s Viper – in the “all-comers” race. This has led to some of the sport’s hottest cars all competing for the Rose Cup.

Quotes

Cindi Lux, Driver, No. 5 SRT Viper Competition Coupe Fueled by Black Rock Coffee: “It wouldn’t be summer without attending Rose Cup Races. With the announcement of the SRT Viper returning to ALMS, the energy within SRT is massive right now and I am really excited to be racing the Viper Competition Coupe at the Rose Cup again. I started my driving career with Chrysler under the SRT banner so it’s nice to be back home. The only thing that revs me up more than a big V10 engine pulling me around PIR is a Black Rock espresso! Black Rock is so tuned-into this event! They are pulling out all the stops. Last year I thought I had seen everything a local company could do to promote their product but this year everyone at Black Rock has turned-up the grinder to 11! You add Slacker, Inc., who is so cutting edge with their design and social media work, to the mix and I can promise you, no matter what happens on track, people will remember what we brought to the event! This is going to be flat-out FUN!”

Daniel Brand, Head of Operations, and Black Rock Coffee Bar: “Teaming with Cindi Lux and the Lux Performance Group for the second consecutive Rose Cup is a great opportunity for the Black Rock Coffee Family. It is a great feeling partnering with other Portland-based family businesses in this prestigious and uniquely Portland tradition. The attitude, experience and all-around enjoyment of life make this a weekend that we love to participate in! Our experience last year was so good and the results so successful that we couldn’t wait to roll the No. 5 SRT Viper Fueled by Black Rock Coffee back out to take another couple steps up the podium this year! All involved have a work hard-play hard attitude, which makes this a great time. From watching the team put together a successful race car to seeing Fred [Lux] pop wheelies on The Crippler while the Black Rock Crew provides the caffeine and loud music in the background, the Rose Cup is sure to be fun and exciting again this year!”