Cool story here that was released yesterday but that would have likely been buried in the day’s activities at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The PIRTEK Team Murray effort has another partner announcement in a cool way.
The full release is below:
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PIRTEK Team Murray and the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation have created a unique program that will see six military service veterans and first responders from across North America molded into a pit crew for this year’s 100th Indianapolis 500 celebrations in May.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) worked with Team Murray and the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation to create the concept and WBHE will be using the pit crew program to launch American Sniper: The Chris Kyle Commemorative Edition Blu-ray on May 3.
The pit crew will be housed in Indianapolis for the 10 days leading up to the event and will be trained and coached by some of the sport’s leading fitness and movement professionals, including Pit Fit’s Jim Leo.
Training complete, they will then be the entry crewing the PIRTEK Team Murray #61 Chevrolet entry into the TAG Heuer Pit Crew Challenge on Coors Lite Carb Day, Friday May 27, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The program was officially launched today by Kyle’s wife and PIRTEK Team Murray ambassador - Taya Kyle - at the Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg in Florida, the opening round of the Verizon IndyCar Series.
Taya, the wife of Chris Kyle and best selling author of American Wife, was joined by PIRTEK Team Murray founder, Brett “Crusher” Murray, driver of the #61 PIRTEK Team Murray Chevrolet, Matt Brabham and former Navy SEAL, David Rutherford, who was announced as the first member of the CK Crew.
Rutherford, who is based in Florida, served eight years in the Naval Special Warfare Community, leaving the services in 2003.
He works as a motivational speaker with many of the world’s biggest companies under the banner of Team Froglogic, using his SEAL training to develop the competitive edge for those organizations.
An advocate for the recognition and treatment of PTSD among the military community, he is also a regular podcaster and radio host, Performance Coach, musician, poet and author who has published three books, including the best selling Self Confidence.
The remaining five members of the crew have been personally selected by Taya Kyle and will be announced during the coming weeks.
The remaining five members of the crew, a mixture of first responders, active military service personnel and veterans, have been personally selected by Taya Kyle and will be announced during the coming weeks.
The CK Crew concept was born from Chris Kyle’s appreciation for the teamwork that pit crews display in going about their job.
It was the one thing about motorsport that stood out to him some years ago when first attending a NASCAR race - Chris taking the time to speak with the crew, commenting at the time that the precision, toughness and the ability to work as one for the common goal reminded him of his military unit.
Funds raised through the program will be used by the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation to build programs that allow military service, veteran and first responder families to reconnect post-deployment.
The six CK Crew Members and Supporters will be included in a host of experiences including a ride in a two-seater IndyCar, being the guests of honor at a team dinner, team-bonding go-kart challenge with Matt Brabham, team hospitality and being included in the pre-race activities on the grid as guests of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The Foundation will be using the Indianapolis 500 and other major Verizon IndyCar Series events throughout the year as a basis to allow military and first responders to re-engage and enhance their family units.
PIRTEK Team Murray will field a car in this year’s 100th Indianapolis 500 for Matt Brabham, achieving the milestone of seeing the Brabham family becoming just the third family to have three generations compete in the race.
The US arm of Australian founded PIRTEK Fluid Systems has taken the naming rights of the team which has a technical partnership with KV Racing Technology, who won the Indy 2013 with Tony Kanaan.