Wicked Energy Gum has become a fixture in dirt-track racing, not only in central Pennsylvania, but across the country.
Matthew Henninger, founder of Wicked Energy Gum, sponsored cars and teams, different events and contingencies, and even an entire series during the 2019 season. Racing was part of a strategic marketing plan to bring the gum to the masses.
It’s a merger between product and a community that makes sense. Henninger has a product he believes in and a strong passion for motorsports, and specifically, dirt-track racing.
Henninger will continue to bring his product to fans while giving back to the racing community next season. The first opportunity comes before a lap is even turned, as Wicked Energy Gum will become the title sponsor for the 2020 edition of Racing Xtravaganza.
“It’s just an extension of the marketing we do in motorsports,” Henninger said. “It’s a concentrated source of participants and fans who have been following the activities that we’ve been doing all season long, and in particular, central Pennsylvania where we’ve had some great success and a lot of activity.
“Wicked Energy Gum was really exposed in the Central Pa. area this year. On top of that, we have a relationship with April [Clark] and Scott [Gobrecht], and we want to be supportive of the event they have been building over the last five years. We think it can continue to grow.”
The show will be held at the York ExpoCenter on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. Fans can expect over 100 cars from different divisions across the region, vendors, and racetracks to be in attendance. There will be a Ms. Racing Xtravaganza pageant on Friday night, and a Junior Miss Racing Xtravanganza pageant on Saturday.
A Cornhole tournament will also be held over the two-day show. Friday night will feature the fan competition, with Saturday being highlighted by a driver competition and a $1,000 to win Random Draw tournament. The weekend's events will feature a $4,250 purse. To register for the tournament, the pageants, or to become a vendor, go to www.racingxtravaganza.com.
Along with Wicked Energy Gum sponsorship, Henninger is also instrumental in bringing the Wicked Cushion eSports platform to the show. There will be an iRacing simulator competition, which will kick off a season-long series of sim racing events.
“I think Wicked Cushion has a pretty good eSports fan base in central Pennsylvania,” Henninger said. “Almost our entire Dave Blaney eSports team is from central Pennsylvania. Like I mentioned, Wicked not only has a presence in eSports, but also in real-world racing in central Pennsylvania.
“We do fast time awards from time to time, we have a nice banner at BAPS, and we bring the Wicked Cushion and Wicked Energy Gum tents to a number of tracks. So, it only makes sense to kick off our big eSports Series at this event. It’s where there is a large audience of motorsports fans and participants, and we would like to expose them to what we are trying to build in eSports. There are also a lot of people participating in our eSport leagues who are from central Pennsylvania.”
More information on the simulator series event and other show happenings will be released in the coming weeks.
Wicked Energy Gum is a convenient, fast acting alternative to energy drinks. It’s five times faster without filling up on liquids. For more information and to purchase Wicked Energy gum, go to www.wickedenergygum.com
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Racing Xtravaganza is on a mission to connect racetracks, competitors, drivers, fans and sponsors to a broader audience. We do this by hosting the largest indoor winter motorsports event in Central Pennsylvania, Racing Xtravaganza will fill the 114,000 square foot York ExpoCenter with nothing but racing.