A funky Zapcat power catamaran is one of the all-action prizes worth £100,000 in STP’s 50th anniversary free draw at stp50.com.
It’s 50 years since STP - the world’s most renowned engine care brand - burst onto the scene with the famed additive, STP Oil Treatment.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary £100,000 worth of all-action prizes are up for grabs in bi-monthly give-aways, including jet-ski, quad bike, snowmobile, off-road bikes, the wild and wacky Zap Cat power catamaran, plus special limited edition STP50 anniversary shirts and caps.
The STP brand has come a long way since it started out in the USA in the 50’s, when the original STP additive was sold from the boot of cars.
The benefits of the pioneering STP products have since spread across a whole range of petrol and oil additives that help maintain optimum engine performance.
The famous red, white and blue STP lozenge logo has achieved iconic status worldwide, with an enthusiast following second to none, thanks to STP’s gutsy high-profile successes in record breaking at Bonneville, drag racing and circuit racing that took the brand all the way to winning the Indy 500, seven NASCAR titles and into Formula One.
The most famous name associated with the STP brand is the legendary Andy Granatelli, whose sheer energy, expertise and passion in the 60s and 70s helped turn STP into the emphatic world leader of fuel additives and engine care products that it is today.
Granatelli’s ingenuity and enterprise in distributing over 100 million STP decals in the late sixties emphatically put the brand on the map. Granatelli also boosted the STP profile on the back of claiming a host of speed records, and extensive sponsorship, with STP and motorsport proving as well matched as burger and fries….so much so that the company has the longest running continuous team sponsorship in motorsport, including 32 years with the Richard Petty team in NASCAR and the Petty Enterprises Racing School.
Quick and simple free on-line entry via the anniversary website, stp50.com.
STP MOTORSPORT HIGHLIGHTS
o In 1954, the first STP oil treatment product was developed by three young chemists in Missouri, USA
o Today, STP is the world leader in oil and fuel additives and engine care products
o Andy Granatelli, who headed up STP for 11 years from 1963, was one of the pioneers of motor sport sponsorship in the USA. Granatelli established the STP brand and performance heritage in the 60’s and early ‘70’s through motor sport backing in Indy, stock cars, drag racing, sprint cars and midgets, paving the way for wider STP sponsorship in F3, F2 & F1.
o STP has committed to longer continuous sponsorship in motorsport than any other company worldwide, and has the longest continuous team sponsorship (32 years) with Richard Petty
o STP has won, more than once, the USA’s ‘blue riband’ races - the Indy 500 and Daytona 500
o In 1959, STP made its debut in motorsport, when Athol Graham established speed records on Bonneville Salt Flats
o In 1963, STP established 365 USAC land speed records over a three-week period on Utah Salt Flats with a 12-car Studebaker STP Team, reaching 198mph
o In 1964, STP first entered the Indy 500 with Bobby Allison
o In 1965, Paula Murphy, driving the STP Special 10,000hp jet car, took the women’s World Land Speed Record at Bonneville at 243.44mph
o In 1967, Granatelli designed, built and ran the revolutionary and controversial 4WD STP turbo car, at Indianapolis, driven by Parnelli Jones
o In 1968, 100 million STP decals were distributed as part of an innovative marketing programme which further established the brand
o In 1969, Mario Andretti won the Indy 500 for STP
o In 1971, STP begun sponsorship in the NASCAR Winston Cup
o In 1972, Richard Petty was signed by STP to contest the NASCAR Winston Cup. He won the first time out, at Riverside California
o In 1973, Richard Petty won the Daytona 500 and went on to win it a further three times with STP
o In 1973, Gordon Johncock won the Indy 500 for STP
o In 1984, Richard Petty won the Daytona 500 and in so doing scored his 200th NASCAR victory
o Richard Petty won a record seven NASCAR Winston Cup Championship titles
o During the 1990’s, STP’s Indy team included Michael Andretti, Roberto Guerrero, Bobby Rahal, Tom Sneva, Jimmy Vasser and Juan Pablo Montoya
o After Richard Petty’s racing retirement in 1992, STP retained sponsorship with the Petty family and the newly-formed Richard Petty Driving Experience
Over the past 50 years, drivers of STP-sponsored cars have included the following:
Jeff AndrettiKyle PettyJohn AndrettiRichard PettyMario AndrettiArt PollardMichael AndrettiSam PoseyBuddy BakerDennis PriddleJim ClarkDon PrudhommeWally DallenbachBobby RahalWally Dallenbach JnrBrian RedmanGeorge FollmerJochen RindtAthol GrahamSwede SavageRoberto GuerreroJo SiffertBobby HamiltonTom SnevaGraham HillDanny SullivanGordon JohncockDidier TheysParnelli JonesAl UnserJoe LeonardAl Unser JnrJuan Pablo MontoyaBobby UnserRonnie PetersonJim Vasser
