Sage Fruit has been a significant sponsor of sprint car and midget racing for the past 25 years.
That support will end with the retirement of longtime Sage Fruit President of Sales and Marketing Chuck Sinks effective Dec. 31.
With his retirement, the company has decided to pull back its involvement in motor racing.
Sinks addressed his retirement and the company’s long run sponsoring race teams and events in a statement to SPEED SPORT.
“It has been a great run to be involved with so many outstanding people over the 25 years. We have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the racing community and we have loved the support of the fans during this time frame,” stated Sinks. “It pains me to see this come to an end, but I certainly understand that the company has decided to move in a different direction.
“I would also like to thank Kaci Komstadius, my marketing partner at Sage Fruit. Without her help, passion and involvement, we would not have been as successful throughout the years in this sport. Kaci made things happen daily, she worked tirelessly night after night to make our sponsorships work.
“We have also worked with some truly great organizations, tracks, race teams, etc. It all started with Kasey Kahne Racing. With Kasey being from Washington, it was a natural partnership that worked well for over a long period of time. We both had common goals of helping our growers and customers. From KKR, we moved to TSR.
“Working with Tony Stewart Racing the past nine years has been a highlight of my career. Tony Stewart, Donny Schatz, Misha Geisert and Jared Frood are like family to me and Sage Fruit. Our moving on from TSR next year has nothing to do with TSR, they were fantastic partners. Tony helped grow our business and take it to new heights. We have loyal customers all over the United States that have fallen in love with racing because of Tony. We will forever be grateful to them.
“Winged Nation, Steve Post and Ashley Stremme were also instrumental in the success of Sage Fruit. Their weekly TV shows helped put us on the map with sprint car fans. Their friendships, great viewership and fun times helped make this sport successful.
“We also had a great relationship with the World of Outlaws and Melvyn Record. Melvyn helped us with the stage shows, sponsorships, etc. We will forever be proud of the opportunities that the World Racing Group provided to us,” Sinks continued. “They introduced us to Justin and Kathy from Williams Grove and the partnership took off. They were both great to work with as Sage Fruit was proud to be associated with the Williams Grove National Open. We were able to get our retail partner Weis Markets involved and the three of us went to work to help with this iconic event.
“The Skagit Nationals was also a great experience. With it being in our backyard in the State of Washington it first took off with Steve Beitler, then it moved to Kevin Rudeen and Blake Anderson. The Sage Fruit Skagit Nationals was another exceptional event that we were proud to be a part of.
Sponsoring the Front Row Challenge at Oskaloosa was also another highlight for Sage Fruit. Terry and Lori McCarl were very gracious to us and always gave us more than we expected from the sponsorship. They went over and above to make sure we were happy with the results we received from being part of this great event.”
Sink said he will continue to be a race fan.
“We will still be at the track, but as a fan vs a sponsor. I’ll miss being involved in the day-to-day opportunities that came along with these sponsorships,” he said. “There is no doubt that sprint car and midget racing are stronger than ever and will continue to grow as a sport.”
