By Tim Richardson

On Aug. 15, Andretti Sports Marketing and Race On LLC announced that the Chrysler Group's Street and Racing Technology brand will be the presenting sponsor of the 2012 Grand Prix of Baltimore. Organizers said SRT would serve as the official car and the official truck of the event, Aug. 31 through Sept. 2.

"Baltimore's inner harbor is a beautiful backdrop for world-class racing on Labor Day weekend," said Beth Paretta, the director of marketing and operations for SRT Brand and Motorsports, Chrysler Group LLC. "We're excited to showcase our performance portfolio of SRT vehicles to a discerning crowd of motorsport enthusiasts, and the Baltimore Grand Prix is the perfect location.

"We're also proud to be competing in the American Le Mans Series again with our new Viper GTS-R team, and we look forward to seeing all of our fans in Baltimore."

The 2013 SRT Viper and 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 will be at the front of the field at the start of each major race during the weekend. The American Le Mans Series race on Sept. 1 has been renamed the "Baltimore Sports Car Challenge presented by SRT."

"We've said all along that it would be incredibly tough to bring a major sponsor to the 2012 event on such a short timeframe," said John Lopes, president of Andretti Sports Marketing. "But, the executives at SRT really understood and appreciated the scope and the significance of the Baltimore event and the potential to showcase their brand to a large audience of auto enthusiasts and consumers, in person and around the world via multiple broadcasts.

"This is a huge vote of confidence in both Race On and Andretti Sports Marketing. We are thrilled this event will now be known as the Grand Prix of Baltimore presented by SRT."

In other sponsorship news, Subway restaurants was named as an official promotional partner for the 2012 Grand Prix of Baltimore. As co-sponsor for the event's volunteer program, Subway will provide meals for 800 event volunteers throughout the weekend.

Posted Aug. 15, 2012