August 3, 2017 – Zippo Manufacturing Company and Watkins Glen International are proudly celebrating their 25th anniversary of partnership and delighting racing fans in 2017. This year’s NASCAR XFINITY Series Zippo 200 is set to take place at Watkins Glen International on Saturday, August 5 at 2 p.m.
Fans visiting “The Glen,” the premier road racing facility in North America, for this weekend’s tripleheader can stop by the Zippo Hot Spot to spin the wheel and win Zippo swag, have their Zippo windproof lighters tuned-up, and purchase Zippo merchandise, including new Zippo outdoor products. The famous Zippo Car and Zippo Jeep will also be on site for fun photo ops.
Zippo signed on as a track sponsor in 1992, and the following year, as the title sponsor of the inaugural Zippo U.S. Vintage Grand Prix. The event featured classic cars with international appeal – a great fit for the classic Zippo lighter, which also has international appeal.
In its first 10 years, the event grew to surpass all other similar races in the United States, becoming the largest and most well attended vintage event in the nation. Zippo continued sponsoring the event for 15 years.
In 2005, Zippo also became title sponsor of an annual, nationally televised NASCAR stock car race at Watkins Glen. The inaugural Zippo 200 NASCAR Nationwide Series Race was run on August 13, 2005, and won by Ryan Newman in the number 39 Alltel car.
The Zippo 200 will kick off at 2 p.m. on Saturday, August 5 and will be broadcast on NBCSN.