Prevost Named Official Luxury Motorcoach Of NASCAR
Prevost and NASCAR recently announced a multiyear partnership that designates the Sainte-Claire, Quebec-based company as the Official Luxury Motorcoach of NASCAR. In doing so, Prevost reinforces its nearly 30-year association with the number-one spectator sport in the United States and increases its visibility with an influential and vibrant cross-section of American business.
“This partnership between Prevost and NASCAR is a natural fit for two thriving brands that share an unrelenting commitment to innovation,” said Gaetan Bolduc, Prevost president and CEO. “Prevost motor coaches are fixtures at NASCAR events, populating driver and team owner parking lots. And Prevost hospitality, executive, and technical support coaches serve as mobile work stations for manufacturers, teams, and sponsors.”
In the fast-paced 38-week NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule, Sprint, Toyota Racing Development (TRD), Ford Racing, Richard Childress Racing, and Hendrick Motorsports are a few of the organizations that operate from trackside corporate coaches throughout the season.
“Prevost’s state-of-the-art motor coaches provide a home-away-from-home for our drivers, team owners, partners, and fans throughout the course of our demanding season,” said NASCAR chief sales officer Jim O’Connell. “Our three national series provide a grand stage for Prevost to showcase its luxury motor coaches to a substantial number of brands and consumers at the track who may consider purchasing or leasing a product or vehicle.”
NASCAR will utilize Prevost’s state-of-the-art luxury motor coaches this year for at-track hospitality through the NASCAR Fuel for Hospitality program. This program was specifically designed for official NASCAR partners to provide employees and customers with a VIP race-day experience at the track. In addition, Prevost will join the NASCAR Fuel for Business Council to buy and sell directly with top Fortune 500 companies.
Prevost’s involvement with NASCAR began in the 1980s as Featherlite Coaches and Marathon Coach led the way in providing trackside offices and living quarters for competitors, sponsors, suppliers, and families who made the racetrack their home throughout the race season. Each race weekend, whether as a motorhome or as an executive coach, Prevost motor coaches play an integral role in the transportation and staging of NASCAR events across the United States.
Prevost’s parent company is The Volvo Group; its U.S.-based office is located in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Checklist For A Summer Alaska Adventure
If you’re planning a trip to Alaska this summer and aren’t sure where to start or what to see, let the 2013 edition of The Milepost Alaska Travel Planner be your guide. Following are a few suggestions from the book for not-to-be-missed, only-in-Alaska adventures.
Bear viewing. Alaska has black bears and brown/grizzly bears, and it is common to see both species along the highway or even in the cities. For a guaranteed bear-viewing experience, enlist the guidance of experts or visit a wildlife park, or consider flying out to bear-viewing locations from Anchorage, Homer, Soldotna, or Kodiak. Costs range from $250 to $495 per person, with a 2-person minimum. For the economy-minded, a visit to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center on the Seward Highway offers close-up views of grizzly bears for $12.50 per adult ($9 for 4-12 years and seniors) or a $35-per-vehicle admission fee.
Glacier viewing. You can see several of Alaska’s glaciers for free by driving the highway system (Worthington Glacier on the Richardson Highway, Matanuska Glacier on the Glenn Highway). In addition, Glacier-viewing day cruises depart daily in season from Juneau (Sawyer Glacier/Tracy Arm), Valdez and Whittier (Columbia Glacier and other Prince William Sound glaciers), and Seward (Kenai Fjords National Park). The average cost is $125 and may include meals or snacks. For high-end glacier viewing, take a cruise through southeast Alaska that will include Glacier Bay.
Dog sledding. It’s Alaska’s state sport. Denali National Park kennels has free sled dog demonstrations in the summer, or stop by the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Headquarters in Wasilla. Iditarod musher Vern Halter offers sled dog rides and race history at his Dream A Dream Dog Farm in Willow, and the dog-mushing Seavey family welcomes visitors to their homestead and Iditarod kennels near Seward.
Gold panning. Pan for gold at free public streams, such as Discovery Claim and Nome Creek outside Fairbanks, or at historic gold claims that now teach tourists how to pan: Gold Dredge No. 8, Chicken Gold Camp, Crow Creek Mine, and Indian Valley Mine.
Summers in Alaska also offer great fishing, camping, birding, whale watching, cruising, whitewater rafting, fascinating museums, totem parks, and much more.
The 65th edition of The Milepost is available in local bookstores and retail outlets; by phone at (800) 726-4707; or online at www.themilepost.com. A digital edition is available to those who purchase the print edition. Apps for the same 760 pages that fill the print edition are available for download onto iPad and Android devices for $19.99 and can be purchased at iTunes, Google, or Amazon app stores.
Class Of 2013 RV/MH Hall Of Fame Inductees Announced
The board of directors of the RV/MH Heritage Foundation recently announced the Class of 2013 for induction into the RV/MH Hall of Fame. The induction ceremonies will be held at the RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart, Indiana, on August 5, 2013.
The list includes four men who made major contributions to the motorhome industry. They include:
Kirwan Elmers, L145, who with his father, Miles, began Custom Coach Corporation in Columbus, Ohio, in 1955. For more than 50 years, Mr. Elmers was a major innovator in the creation of luxury RVs from bus shells. Among the innovations he helped to engineer were the first automatic transmission in an intercity bus shell (1956); the first backup camera in a motor coach (1965); the first cruise control used in a motor coach (1967); and the first quick-change lounge area that automatically converted to a bedroom (1986).
Mr. Elmers and his family were among the 26 coach-owning families in Hinckley, Maine, when FMCA was founded on July 20, 1963, and his company became one of the first commercial members of the association. He served 10 years as president of FMCA’s Commercial Council.
C.M. Fore, who died in 2011, founded Foretravel Inc., of Nacogdoches, Texas, in 1967, and became a leader in the evolution of luxury Type A motorhomes. His company was one of the first to use diesel engines in motorhomes, and it was among the leaders in developing the diesel-pusher chassis. Foretravel built the first unibody motorhomes and pioneered the use of household appliances in motorhomes, including multiple air conditioners, central vacuum systems, refrigerators with ice makers, and more. He led the concept of factory-owned stores by creating Foretravel outlets in major markets around the United States. Foretravel Inc., C236, has been an FMCA commercial member since 1972.
Lawrence C. Lippert founded Lippert Components in Goshen, Indiana, in 1955 with two employees. From these humble beginnings, he built the company into the largest component supplier in the industry. To this day, the company provides everything from frames and chassis to roof materials for stationary homes and RVs. His products have included axles, countertops, mattresses, draperies, and furniture. Mr. Lippert is recognized for building Lippert Components, still a family-operated company, into a generous corporate citizen that employs more than 4,500 workers in 12 states.
Mathew Perlot, who passed away in October 2012, was the founder of Safari Motor Coaches of Harrisburg, Oregon. For more than 25 years, Mr. Perlot was recognized as an innovator and leader in the motorhome industry. He pioneered the concept of an affordably priced diesel-pusher motorhome, and introduced the automatic awning to the industry. He was honored as RV Executive of the Year in 1994. He took SMC Corporation — which included Safari, Beaver Coaches, and Harney Coach Works — public in 1996, and eventually sold the company to Monaco Coach Corporation in 2001. While at the helm of SMC, he was a familiar participant at FMCA conventions.