8 Time North American Champion Nathalie Richard Co-Drives with Verena Mei and the tokidoki/TrueCar Rally Team at STPR

Verena Mei & Nathalie Richard Team Up for STPR
Verena Mei & Nathalie Richard Team Up for STPR

This year for STPR, Verena Mei brings on the most decorated Co-Driver in North America, Nathalie Richard, as a guest Co-Driver for the tokidoki / TrueCar Rally Team.  "I'm very excited to drive with the record setting North American Champion!  It will be a great experience driving with Nathalie.  She's won STPR 3 times, including last year, so I know she'll push me hard. I'm very fortunate to work with empowering women," says Verena Mei.

Richard, from Halifax, Nova Scotia, who usually co-drives for Antoine L'Estage on the Rockstar Energy Drink Rally Team, will take Leanne's Junnila's seat for STPR.  Junnila will return to New England Forest Rally with Verena and the tokidoki/TrueCar Rally Team and together, complete the rest of the 2013 Rally America season.

Please welcome Nathalie to the tokidoki/TrueCar Rally Team at STPR!

Keep up on the latest with Verena and Nathalie:

Twitter/Instagram @VerenaMei @NathalieRally

facebook.com/VerenaMeiRacingfacebook.com/NathalieRichardRally

verenamei.comnathalierichard.com

Photo: Pinky Yoshimoto/Aaron Kathman

TrueCar Racing Women Empowered Initiative Names 2013 Team

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TrueCar Racing Women Empowered Initiative Names 2013 Team

Four Racecar Drivers Return for Second Season

Santa Monica, CA, March 12, 2013 – TrueCar, an automotive pricing information and analysis company that creates a better buying experience for dealers and consumers, today announced the 2013 TrueCar Racing Women Empowered Initiative all-female racing team.

This season, the program will focus on supporting up-and-coming drivers at a grass-roots level as they continue to advance through the motorsports ladder.

Ashley Freiberg, IMSA GT3Cup Challenge; Shea Holbrook, Pirelli World Challenge; Verena Mei, Rally America and Emilee Tominovich, Mazda Mx-5 Cup will all be returning to the program for a second consecutive season.

“We are proud to announce the continuation of our Women Empowered Initiative and its re-positioning as a grass-roots program designed to support promising young racers who are in the early stages of their careers,” said Scott Painter, Founder and CEO of TrueCar.  “We had some great success in our inaugural season in 2012.  We captured one National Championship (Verena Mei in Rally America), two podium finishes (Shea Holbrook in Pirelli World Challenge) and ten top-five finishes.  We look forward to continuing to succeed both on and off the racetrack.”

Photo by Elliot Sherwood
Photo by Elliot Sherwood

Freiberg makes her sports car racing debut as she competes with Effort Racing in the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge.  Holbrook returns for her third consecutive season in the Pirelli World Challenge driving the #67 Honda Civic SI for Shea Racing, where she finished fourth in the Championship last season.  Mei, who captured the 2012 Rally America B-Spec National Championship with teammate Leanne Junnila and became the first all-female team to win a Rally America Championship, is returning to the Series to defend her title, while Tominovich, in only her second season of competitive racing, will return with CJ Wilson Racing in the Mazda MX-5 Series.

“Serving as Ambassadors for the TrueCar Racing Women Empowered Initiative, these four racers embody the attributes that TrueCar Racing represents – dedication, passion and perseverance, and we look forward to supporting them as they continue their motorsports career,” said Susan Bradshaw Crowther, Director for the TrueCar Racing Women Empowered Initiative.  “By changing the focus of the program to a scholarship model, we hope to continue to support young women in motorsports and use our ambassadors as role models to demonstrate that with hard work, focus and determination, women can succeed in any field they choose.”

About TrueCar, Inc.

TrueCar, Inc., headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif., with offices in Santa Barbara, Calif., San Francisco, Calif., and Austin, Texas, is an automotive pricing information and analysis company that creates a better buying experience for dealers and consumers.  As an online publisher of unbiased new and used car transaction data, TrueCar.com provides price reports that empower dealers and consumers to agree on the parameters of a fair deal by supplying a transparent, simple understanding of what others recently paid for identically-equipped new cars in their geographic area.  TrueCar also owns ALG, the benchmark for vehicle value information to the automotive industry and has been forecasting residual values for nearly 50 years in both the U.S. and Canadian markets.

TrueCar is a data-driven company that sources, compiles, and analyzes car-buying information unlike anybody in the industry.  This is why, since its founding in 2005, TrueCar dealer partners have sold nearly 700,000 vehicles across the country.  Its national network of more than 5,400 Certified Dealers is committed to provide no-hassle pricing for some of the country’s largest membership and service organizations, including American Express, AAA, USAA and Consumer Reports that collectively represent more than one million monthly in-market customers.

You can follow TrueCar on Twitter (@TrueCar) and become a fan of TrueCar on Facebook and Google+.

For further information, contact:  Susan Bradshaw Crowther

Susan Bradshaw Communications, LLC

Susan@susanbradshaw.com

TOKIDOKI ANNOUNCES SPONSORSHIP OF TRUECAR/STAR GIRL RACING TEAM DRIVER VERENA MEI

TOKIDOKI ANNOUNCES SPONSORSHIP OF TRUECAR/STAR GIRL RACING TEAM DRIVER VERENA MEI

tokidoki, the pop culture brand meaning “sometimes” in Japanese, is speeding onto the racetrack this year with its continued sponsorship of TrueCar/Star Girl Racing Rally Driver Verena Mei, driver for the only all-female team in the 2013 Rally America National Championship.

TrueCar Racing Rally Driver Verena Mei takes the 2012 Rally America National B-Spec Championship and Unveils tokidoki’s Simone Legno Designed Helmet For 2013 Season

TrueCar Racing Rally Driver Verena Mei takes the 2012 Rally America National B-Spec Championship and Unveils tokidoki’s Simone Legno Designed Helmet For 2013 Season

"TrueCar Racing rally driver Verena Mei and her co-driver Leanne Junnila raced in the 2012 Olympus Rally in Olympia, WA on September 22-23, closing out a successful 2012 season that saw the pair win the first ever Rally America B-Spec National Championship and become the first all-female team in Rally America History to win any national championship."

TrueCar Racing Driver Verena Mei Currently in 5th Place in the 2WD Division of the Rally America National Championship Series

TrueCar Racing Driver Verena Mei Currently in 5th Place in the 2WD Division of the Rally America National Championship Series

 TrueCar Racing Driver Verena Mei finished this weekend’s Rally America National Championship event, the New England Forest Rally, in 7th Place in the hotly contested 2WD Division. Her finish was especially significant as it was the one-year anniversary of her first career rally race at the same event last year. Mei has finished five of five races this season, which is a critical factor in the physically and mentally punishing rally racing format that takes place at very high speeds on rough dirt roads, in all weather and often with low visibility.

TrueCar Racing Driver Verena Mei Announces First Race Under TrueCar Racing’s Virgin Group Affiliate Sponsorship and Entry in the 2012 New England Forest Rally

TrueCar Racing Driver Verena Mei Announces First Race Under TrueCar Racing’s Virgin Group Affiliate Sponsorship and Entry in the 2012 New England Forest Rally

Mei’s sponsor, TrueCar has added Virgin Group as an affiliate sponsor and the #335 TrueCar Fiesta will be adding the world renown Virgin logo on the race car as well the TrueCar Racing team uniforms and helmet at this weekends race. Richard Branson’s Virgin Group brand is recognized globally and represents the pinnacle of innovation, entertainment, lifestyle and adventure. “It is incredibly exciting to have my amazing sponsor TrueCar add an affiliate sponsor of the caliber of Virgin Group” said Mei “it says so much for TrueCar Women Empowered and frankly it’s a personally motivating and emotional experience to get behind the wheel and see the TrueCar and Virgin logos on my hood.”

TrueCar Racing Rally America Driver, Verena Mei, At The First Hawaiian International Auto Show

TrueCar Racing Rally America Driver, Verena Mei, At The First Hawaiian International Auto Show

TrueCar Racing Rally America Driver and Pearl City native, Verena Mei, will make an appearance at the First Hawaiian International Auto show this weekend.  Mei will be signing her official hero cards and giving away Tokidoki stickers at the Ford booth on Saturday, March 31 from 1-3 pm

IndyCar Series’ Katherine Legge leads team of six female racers to track

IndyCar Series’ Katherine Legge leads team of six female racers to track

TrueCar.com, through its "Women Empowered" initiative, has signed six high-potential drivers in six different racing series, making their first major debut at the upcoming Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg weekend this Friday through Sunday