ROSS and LUCAS OIL CELEBRATE 20 YEARS
(Photo credit Ricky Bassman)
April 1, 2014
As the David Ross Motorsports race team prepares to start the 2014 season, this weekend, in the Spears SRL Southwest Tour’s DCS RV Center 100, at Kern County Raceway, many will notice a significant change to the 57 car. Usually sporting a black racecar, David Ross instead will be wheeling a red 57 car, this 2014 racing season, and showcasing a retro Lucas Oil Products shield on the hood. So what’s the reason behind this retro look for the David Ross Motorsports Team? It is the celebration of their 20 years of sponsorship with Lucas Oil Products.
20 years ago, David Ross wasn’t even driving racecars yet, but his father, Greg Ross, was a car owner looking for businesses to sponsor his race team, GSR Motorsports. After performing a plumbing job at the Lucas Oil Products plant, in Riverside California, Greg met Forrest and Charlotte Lucas, and instantly liked them both. After discovering that Forrest, himself, was an avid race fan, Greg presented a proposal for sponsorship for his Late Model Sportsman, driven by Greg Scheidecker, for which Forrest and Charlotte Lucas eagerly accepted. This was the beginning of, not only a 20 year business relationship, but a 20 year friendship as well.
Forrest, Charlotte and Morgan Lucas could be seen cheering on the red #25 car, with the Lucas Oil Shield proudly displayed on the hood, in the grandstands at the racetrack, on any given Saturday night. Charlotte even spent time rocking the young David Ross to sleep, as the Saturday nights of racing wore on too long for the youngster. In fact, in 1998, when the GSR Motorsports race team won the track Championship at Orange Show Speedway, Forrest and Charlotte Lucas accompanied the race team to Nashville, Tennessee to celebrate this mighty accomplishment; without Forrest and Charlotte’s continued support their success would not have been possible. The friendship formed between the Lucas family and the Ross family was the biggest treasure that came from their sponsorship relationship, and even, over the years, as Lucas Oil Products began to grow and become a leading innovator for oil products in the racing industry, the friendship still remains.
As David Ross became old enough to begin his own racing career, Forrest and Charlotte Lucas remained a pillar of support for the race team; stating that as long as the Ross family had a racecar, Lucas Oil Products would always have their logo on it. And as the years wore on, and GSR Motorsports became David Ross Motorsports, Lucas Oil Products also began expanding their line of products to assist race teams as a “one stop shop” for all of a racers’ crucial fluid needs.
In 1994, the #25 GSR Motorsports Lucas Oil car used Lucas Oil’s Heavy Duty Stabilizer and the Lucas Oil Fuel Treatment to help them maintain a fast racecar throughout the racing seasons. In 2014, the #57 David Ross Motorsports Lucas Oil car uses a wide variety of the Lucas Oil Products, developed over the years, to keep their racecar in perfect racing condition. From the 10/30 Racing Only Oil, Power Steering Fluid, Synthetic Stabilizer, and Super Coolant, to the L-9 Gear Oils, and G-3 Synthetic Wheel Baring Grease, every precious component on their racecar is protected by Lucas Oil Products. Aside from his regular job, and driving and maintaining a racecar, David Ross also has a shock business, DRM Racing Shocks, where he not only builds his own racing shocks, but also builds shocks for other drivers in various racing divisions. David proudly uses Lucas’ S-1 Racing Shock Oil in all the shocks that he builds. Even as the David Ross Motorsports team prepares the racecar for looking its best on the track, they use Lucas Oil Slick Mist to give their racecar that beautiful shine as it pulls onto the racetrack. From oils to cleaning products, Lucas Oil Products has everything a race team needs to sustain a fast, healthy, and beautiful racecar. As Lucas Oil Products continues to develop more products, the David Ross Motorsports Team is eager to utilize these products, in conjunction with the tried and true products of the past two decades, as an integral part of their racing program.
The David Ross Motorsports Team, formally the GSR Motorsports Team, would like to say Happy Anniversary to Lucas Oil Products and thank them for the 20 years of top of the line racing products, 20 years of support, and most importantly, 20 years of friendship. Look for the red #57 Lucas Oil Products, David Ross Motorsports Chevrolet, driven by David Ross, competing this 2014 season, with a flashback look from 1994; It’s “throw-back Thursday” all season long for the David Ross Motorsports Team as a commemoration of 20 years of support from Lucas Oil Products.
