Woodland has NASCAR connection

Published 12:00 am Friday, May 4, 2007

WOODLAND – NASCAR has come to town.

Centurion Boats, made exclusively by Fineline Industries, has been named the official Wake Board Boat of NASCAR.

In conjunction with that distinction, the company has licensed more than half a dozen official NASCAR boats with the paint scheme of various drivers.

“Marketing is the name of the game,” Fineline nEast General Manager Les Clark said from his office at the Woodland plant. “Our main goal was to have the name more recognized.”

Thus far, Fineline has reached individual boat deals with Joe Gibbs Racing, Dale Earnhardt Inc., Hendrick Motorsports and Evernham Motorsports.

“Our most popular boat thus far has been the number eight,” Clark said. “We’ve also sold number three boats and the number 20.”

The number eight is a Dale Earnhardt Jr. look-alike boat which features a red paint scheme and a white number eight on the side. Likewise, the 20 boat follows the paint scheme of Tony Stewart’s Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet and the number three is painted to match the car driven by the late Dale Earnhardt Sr.

Last week, Fineline Industries East built their first number 19 boat which is designed to follow the paint scheme of Elliot Sadler’s Dodge.

In all, Fineline has built between 35 and 40 NASCAR boats since November.

“We think they will continue to increase as we go along,” Clark said.

This week, the Fineline Industries NASCAR hauler was in Woodland. The full-scale truck is used on site at NASCAR events to showcase the boats and allow fans to sign up if they are interested in making a purchase.

The hauler stopped this week on the way to the NASCAR event at Richmond International Raceway.

Two size boats are available. The ENZO SV 230 is a 23’ boat that sells for $79,000 while the Cyclone C4 20’-8” boat sells for $61,000.

Fineline became involved with NASCAR due in large part to owner Rick Lee’s friendship with Jim France who is head of the NASCAR Grand-Am Series.

In addition to becoming the official Wake Board Boat of NASCAR, Fineline runs a car in the Grand Am Series, specifically in the Grand Sport Class.

The number 17 Mustang is driven by Phil and Steve Mahre. The brothers are known as Olympic skiing champions from the 1980s.

“This is a deal to help promote and sell boats and keep jobs in Woodland,” Clark said. “Our goal is to continue to grow and, hopefully, add more jobs here.”