NEWS

Louisiana Tech stock car to run at Talladega in ARCA Series race

Apr 20, 2015 | General News

ARCA Racing Series driver Buster Graham and the Roulo Brothers Racing team is set to return to the track in the No. 17 Louisiana Tech Bulldog Ford Fusion, May 1 at Talladega Superspeedway in the International Motorsports Hall of Fame 200.
Buster Graham LA TECH card 2015 F(s)The race is the second of the 2015 ARCA season for the No. 17 Louisiana Tech stock car and will be televised live across the nation on FOX Sports 1 beginning at 5:00 p.m. CST. Graham ran well in his first race in the Louisiana Tech Bulldog Ford Fusion, in the Lucus Oil 200 at Daytona International Speedway in February, before being taken out by another driver in an accident on lap 54.
The car will once again showcase Louisiana Tech’s colors and logos with driver and pit crew wearing specially-designed race gear adorned with official Tech logos and imagery. Even Graham’s helmet, designed to resemble Louisiana Tech’s white football helmets from this past season, has become somewhat notorious on the ARCA circuit, being highlighted by Yahoo! Sports and the CBS Sports Network.
“I’m thrilled to have another opportunity to drive the No. 17 Louisiana Tech car in this race and to represent such an outstanding, upper tier university, and sport the Bulldog colors and logos,” said Graham. “At the end of the race, I hope to climb out of the car on Victory Lane and talk up Louisiana Tech. We are going to do our best to make the Bulldogs everywhere proud.”
This unique branding opportunity for Louisiana Tech was made possible through the generosity of a benefactor who connected the university with the race team. The supporter wanted to help promote the university by providing the resources needed to create the Tech-themed car wrap, team uniforms and apparel, and marketing materials.
“Buster and the Roulo Brothers Racing team have done a remarkable job of representing Louisiana Tech and exposing our brand to a whole new group of sports fans across the country,” said Louisiana Tech President Les Guice. “The generosity that they and our benefactor have shown to Louisiana Tech is amazing and truly inspiring. I hope that Bulldog fans and supporters throughout the southern U.S. will make plans to head out to Talladega on May 1 to support Buster and the race team, and blanket the grandstands in Tech Blue.”
Before climbing into a stock car for Roulo Brothers Racing, Graham was a veteran of APBA Hydroplane Racing and Supercross. In 2012, he had a season-best tenth place finish at Michigan International Speedway and won the CSG Imaging Hard Charger Award, presented to the driver who gains the most positions from their starting spot throughout the race season. Graham earned a ninth-place finish in 2013 at Michigan International Speedway before joining with Roulo Racing in 2014.
The ARCA Racing Series is the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America. It is a professional league of stock car racing and is often used as a feeder series into the three national touring series of NASCAR. The ARCA Racing Series has a longstanding relationship with NASCAR, including using former Sprint Cup Series cars, hosting events in the same race weekend (such as “Daytona Speedweeks”) and has even named an award after NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr.