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SPORTS MARKETING NEWS, PRODUCTS AND EVENTS FROM LINCOLN ELECTRIC October 2012

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HAMLIN WINS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, COLLECTS JGR’S 100TH WIN By: joegibbsracing.com

Lincoln Electric is the exclusive welder of Penske Racing

Denny Hamlin won Joe Gibbs Racing’s 100th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win with a dominating performance during the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

It was Hamlin’s Series-leading fifth victory of the season and first in the Chase as he moved to within seven points of the points lead after the second of 10 races in the battle for the Championship. Joey Logano earned a top-ten finish by coming home in eighth while Kyle Busch lost a certain top-five finish when he lost a cylinder in his engine just past the midpoint of the race and had to settle for 28th.

Hamlin, who was among the fastest cars throughout the weekend during practice, wasn’t able to get a similar result in qualifying and had to start his No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota 32nd this afternoon. It was clear however from the outset that Hamlin wouldn’t let the poor starting position deter his efforts as he was up to 20th in just 15 laps and moved into the top 15 by lap 30. Hamlin would race in 12th and a great stop by the FedEx team following a lap 40 competition caution would put him inside the top ten for the first time. The No. 11 Camry would continue its climb toward the front and entered the top five by lap 60 and completed his run to top spot when he passed his teammate Busch on lap 94. From there Hamlin dominated the rest of the way while leading a race-high four times for 193 laps. A caution on lap 272 would wash away a more than six second lead he had built up. Once again the team wasn’t bothered by the challenge as Hamlin just drove away from the field on the final restart to claim JGR’s 100th Sprint Cup Series win. Jimmie Johnson finished second behind Hamlin, while Jeff Gordon was third, Clint Bowyer fourth and Kasey Kahne rounded out the top five. There were four cautions for a total of 17 laps with 17 lead changes among 10 different drivers.

LOGANO TO JOIN PENSKE RACING IN 2013 By: penskeracing.com

MOORESVILLE, N.C. - Penske Racing announced that Joey Logano will join the team in 2013. He will drive the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Logano, 22, a two-time Sprint Cup Series winner who is currently competing in his fourth full season, will begin a multi-year agreement with Penske Racing. "I am very excited to join Penske Racing and begin the next phase of my career," said Logano. "I am looking forward to the opportunity as it will be an honor to drive for Roger Penske and race for wins and championships. I am also proud to represent Shell-Pennzoil as they are a respected global brand that does a great job of activating in the sport on and off the track." In addition to his pair of victories, four poles and 16 top-five finishes in his young Cup Series career, Logano has also produced 15 wins and 19 poles in five seasons competing part time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. "Joey Logano is a very talented driver who has already achieved a lot of success at a young age," said Tim Cindric, President of Penske Racing. "Joey is a great fit for our organization and we look forward to building on his success as he takes his place behind the wheel of the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford." Logano will join Brad Keselowski, a three-time race winner and championship contender in 2012, and the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford team to form a potent combination for Penske Racing in the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Denny Hamlin earns his fifth victory in New Hamphire

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October 2012

RYAN HUNTER-REAY WINS 2012 INDYCAR CHAMPIONSHIP By: IndyCar.com

Lincoln Electric is the Official welder of the IZOD INDYCAR Series

FONTANA, Calif. -- The IZOD IndyCar Series championship was Will Power's to lose entering the MAVTV 500 INDYCAR World Championships at Auto Club Speedway. After Lap 55, it became Ryan Hunter-Reay's to win. For the third consecutive year, contact in the season finale altered the title aspirations of the Aussie. The No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car "caught a seam" in Turn 2 of the 2-mile oval, spun and made contact with the SAFER Barrier while running 12th -- a few car lengths ahead of Hunter-Reay's No. 28 Team DHL/Sun Drop Citrus Soda car. "It’s the season; you can’t make mistakes like that," said a dejected Power, who had a 17-point advantage at the green flag of the 250-lap race. "My team was pushing me to get around him, and it was just a mistake." Hunter-Reay also clinched the A.J. Foyt Trophy for most points scored on ovals. He entered the race tied with Kanaan. "There were definitely times there where it was looking hopeful," Power said. "All credit to my guys getting the car out and doing those 12 laps to get a couple of points. At the end of the day, Hunter-Reay is definitely a deserving champion. A real fighter. Probably as far as all-around drivers go, he’s probably the best in the series because he wins in each discipline. "If I look back on the season,

once again the ovals – three crashes on three of the ovals this year -- that’s a massive hit in the points. Three years winning the road course championship, quite convincingly, so it’s very obvious where I lack." Ed Carpenter earned his second IZOD IndyCar Series victory -- for the second consecutive year in the finale and with Dario Franchitti as the runner-up. Carpenter is the first team owner/driver to win since Adrian Fernandez in 2004 (also at Auto Club Speedway). Scott Dixon finished third (the 98th top five of his career) and Helio Castroneves was fifth. "This feels great for a team that just started in November," said Carpenter, who led a field-high 62 laps in a race that featured 29 lead changes. "I probably should have won Indy but I kind of messed up a little bit. We have been trying to win ovals all year and finally got it done. Good way to end the year." Franchitti, who won the last IZOD IndyCar Series race at the speedway in 2005, tied Al Unser Jr. and Bobby Rahal for fifth all time with 88 podium finishes. He also passed Rick Mears with his 112th top-five finish and tied Castroneves and Dixon for eighth with his 29th runner-up finish. "Almost isn't quite good enough," said Franchitti of the pass that occurred just before Sato's crash. "Ed just got a big run. Ultimately the smallest amounts, but you win by those and you lose by those."

1 Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport

2 Will Power Penske Racing

3 Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi Rac-ing

4 Helio Castroneves Penske Racing

5 Simon Pagenaud Schmidt/Hamilton MS

6 Ryan Briscoe Penske Racing

7 Dario Franchitti Target Chip Ganassi Rac-ing

8 James Hincliffe Andretti Autosport

9 Tony Kanaan KV Racing Technology

10 Graham Rahal Chip Ganassi Racing

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October 2012

Antron Brown raced to the Top Fuel victory Sunday, September 23rd at the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at the famed all-concrete Texas Motorplex near Dallas.

Bob Tasca III (Funny Car), Allen Johnson (Pro Stock), and Michael Ray (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were winners at the second of six playoff events in the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship.

Brown claimed his fifth victory of the season and moved into a tie for the points lead with the driver he beat in the final round, teammate Spencer Massey. Brown powered his Matco Tools dragster to a 3.898-second run at 311.49 mph to hold off Massey’s FRAM dragster, which finished with a 3.945 at 300.60. “This is definitely the way to rebound,” said Brown, the playoff top seed who dropped to fourth in the standings after a first-round loss at the playoff opener last weekend in Charlotte. “I have to give credit to my team for sticking together. We were winning in the first round in Charlotte when we broke an input shaft. It’s so easy to get down after something like that. We came here, and the car was throwing us fits by being overaggressive. Brian [Corradi] and Mark [Oswald, co-crew chiefs] kept backing it off until they got a good handle on it in the semi's.”

Brown and Massey lead seven-time world champ Tony Schumacher by 24 points and the suddenly surging Shawn Langdon is 41 back as the playoff race in the 8,000-horsepower category gets intense. “In that final, we had to give it everything we had against the FRAM car,” said Brown, who beat three Countdown contenders — David Grubnic, Langdon, and Morgan Lucas — in the first three rounds. “We edged them, and it felt really good to win and to tie them in the points lead. We have four races left, and it’s going to be a slugfest to the end. Everybody’s throwing haymakers. It’s

an all-out battle royal right now.”

ANTRON BROWN VICTORIOUS IN DALLAS BY: NHRA.com

New York – Robby Gordon’s Stadium SUPER Trucks and NBC Sports Group have

reached an agreement to televise the 2013 Inaugural Stadium SUPER Trucks Season

on NBC and NBC Sports Network. Starting in April of 2013, NBC and NBC Sports

Network will televise 12 races (11 domestic and one international). Capitalizing on what

was once known as Mickey Thompson’s Off-Road Racing, Robby Gordon’s Stadium

SUPER Trucks will feature high-flying off-road action motorsports fans have been

asking for. The entire championship season will be broadcasted on NBC and NBC

Sports Network, with the series awarding $500,000 to the Champion driver of Stadium

SUPER Trucks. “It has always been my dream to bring back stadium racing to the

masses. I started my career winning a championship in Mickey’s series and now I want

to revive his vision and bring back what the motorsports world needs. NBC Sports

understands what kind of excitement and value our show will exhibit. This will be

extreme wheel-to-wheel, door-to-door, roof-to-dirt racing action for all ages,” said

Robby Gordon, President of Stadium SUPER Trucks.

STADIUM SUPER TRUCKS SETS 2013 SCHEDULE BY: stadiumsupertrucks.com

Race through the year with some of the best teams in motorsports. Order your 2013 calendars today to take advantage of this low-cost give away for your customers. Our calendars showcase high-quality, performance-packed photos of your favorite race teams. We have kept our prices low, the same as last year, to give you more value for your dollar. You have nothing to lose, money to save, and a great way to remind your customers where to come for their welding needs. Orders placed before October 8th, 2012 will receive a 10% discount. Calendars will start shipping the beginning of November. Orders due by November 9th, 2012. Orders received after November 9th will be shipped mid-December.

BE SURE TO ORDER YOUR 2013 CALENDAR!

Upcoming Sports Marketing Events - October / November

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October 2012

Point Person: Brian Soder NASCAR Credential Request Form

(Sales Reps Only)

Point Person: Tommy Dickinson NHRA Credential Request Form

(Sales Reps Only)

Point Person: Mickey Holmes mickey_holmes@lincolnelectric.com

(Sales Reps Only)

Point Person: Tommy Dickinson IndyCar Credential Request Form

(Sales Reps Only)

October 7 AMP Energy 500 October 13 Bank of America 500 October 21 Hollywood Casino 400 October 28 Tums Fast Relief 500 November 4 AAA Texas 500 November 11 AdvoCare 500 November 18 Ford EcoBoost 400

Talladega, AL Charlotte, NC Kansas City, MO Martinsville, VA Fort Worth, TX Phoenix, AZ Homestead, FL

October 4-7 Auto Plus Nationals Reading, PA October 25-28 Big O Tires Nationals Las Vegas, NV November 8-11 Auto Club Finals Pomona, CA

October 5-6 Philadelphia Invitational Philadelphia, PA October 12-13 Cooper Tires Invitational Columbus, OH October 24-28 Built Ford Tough World Finals Las Vegas, NV

See you in 2013!