Author: Jessica Ruffin
Date: March 10, 2017
LAS VEGAS – Kevin Harvick and NBA Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo teamed up to unveil Mobil 1's newest Annual Protection product on Thursday evening at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas.
The official oil of NASCAR and the NBA, Mobil 1 Annual Protection is designed with the slogan "One year. One oil change," and will serve as an efficient product that allows consumers to skip the multiple oil change trips.
"Mobil 1 Annual Protection breaks conventional wisdom as it relates to changing your oil," said Michele Biamonte, automotive marketing manager for ExxonMobil. "We know consumers stay more busy than ever, and so Mobil 1 Annual Protection guarantees protection of your engine for one full year."
Mobil 1 Annual Protection will adorn Harvick's No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford as its primary sponsor in this weekend's Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (3:30 p.m. Sunday, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). In addition to Harvick's No. 4 this weekend, Mobil 1 also will sponsor the other three Stewart-Haas Racing drivers throughout the season: Danica Patrick at Bristol Motor Speedway, Kurt Busch at Richmond International Raceway and Clint Bowyer at Texas Motor Speedway.
"The car looks great even though it's green and I know a lot of people say green's bad luck and I tell them, 'Well just give me all the money in your pocket and I'll take it for the rest of the day,' " Harvick joked, gesturing to his Mobil 1 Annual Protection Ford on display. "... I got a little taste of being part of the (Mobil 1) family over the last couple years and to be able to put that on our engines, transmissions, rim gears every week for qualifying, I smile because I know the car's going to run faster and I don't have to do anything different than what I did in practice.
"...One year, one oil change -- sounds pretty simple to me. I think when you look at the concept, it makes sense."
Even more simply: "Don't change your oil," Mutombo said with his signature finger wag, met with a chorus of laughs.
For Mutombo, who filmed a series of Mobil 1 commercials with Harvick, the Mobil 1 connection gives him the opportunity to experience NASCAR firsthand this weekend at Las Vegas.
"Over my career, I've played in front of 20,000 people," Mutombo said. "But I've never seen a crowd of 60,000, 70,000 people. And seeing the tire being changed in 11 seconds, according to Kevin ... I'm looking forward to seeing that up close. How can somebody change four tires in 11 seconds and get back on the track without losing 100 yards? ... I'm looking to learn as much as I can."
But it's not just the pit crew: the former NBA star also spoke to the athleticism of the drivers.
"I don't know what (the drivers) eat in the morning to go around more than 100, 200 times," Motumbo said. "I cannot do that -- I would get dizzy and collapse.
"... You have to be physically fit and mentally fit for you to just sit inside there and look around for 200 times, 300 times."
Harvick, Mutombo and the newly unveiled No. 4 Mobil 1 Annual Protection Ford will hit the track Sunday for the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
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