LATICRETE, a global leader in the manufacturing of innovative systems for the installation of tile and stone, has announced that it will sponsor the race car of John Duty, vice president of LATICRETE MVP customer Don Frank Floor Covering Company in Portland, Oregon, for the 2009 DIRTcar I-5 Northwest Late Model Tour racing series. In a non-sanctioned tune-up for the upcoming season, Duty took home first place in both the Trophy Dash and the Outlaw Late Model A Main Event on May 9 at his home track, Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Oregon. The Trophy Dash is a four-lap race around the 3/10 mile clay and dirt oval track against the top four qualifiers of the day. The Outlaw Late Model A Main Event is the feature race of the day, with 18 cars racing 40 laps at speeds that reach in excess of 100 mph.

“LATICRETE is sponsoring us for the entire season – which is awesome,” said Duty. “Ed Metcalf (LATICRETE President, North America) flew in and we had a nice meet and greet. Somehow the conversation turned to racing and one thing led to another. I live in a market where racing is not considered mainstream. It’s difficult to get sponsors, so LATICRETE getting involved was huge for us.

“I’ve been in the business a long time and we use a lot of LATICRETE® products. It’s been a great relationship. We buy our products from United Tile, but in recent years we’ve really gotten to know the local LATICRETE rep and we’ve started to use their thin-set adhesives a lot more. LATICRETE® 254 Platinum is a great product. Our mainstay is LATICRETE 9235 Waterproofing Membrane, but we always use their grout, too.”

Don Frank Floor Covering Co. was established in 1962 in Portland, Oregon, with the goal of providing its customers with the highest quality workmanship in the installation of tile, natural stone, carpet, hardwood, forbo and sheet vinyl floor covering products from top manufacturers. Don Frank Floor Covering Co. is a LATICRETE MVP (Most Valued Partner), and uses LATICRETE products for its installations of tile or stone.

LATICRETE International, Inc. is a family owned business dedicated to innovative, high quality tile and stone installation systems. Based in the USA, the 50-plus year old company is one of the world’s leading manufacturers in its field. It’s well known brands LATICRETE®, LATAPOXY® and SpectraLOCK® are manufactured and sold worldwide. USA /Canada: 1.800.243.4788, outside USA: +1.203.393.0010, www.laticrete.com.