Castrol SYNTEC and SOURCE INTERLINK MEDIA Rev up Top Car Challenge Sweepstakes

- The Search for the Ultimate Street Machine is on and One Lucky Winner Will Take Home $10,000 in Cash -

IRVINE, Calif.--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Castrol and seven of SOURCE INTERLINK MEDIA’s Tuner and Performance titles have teamed up for the second straight year to roll out a five-month Web campaign to capture the attention of hardcore automotive enthusiasts. This year, the hunt is on to crown the vehicle with the best power and performance in the Castrol SYNTEC Top Car Challenge.

“Last year’s award-winning Castrol SYNTEC Top Shop Challenge saw an overwhelming response, and we are optimistic that this year’s contest and sweepstakes will inspire an even deeper level of excitement and participation.”

The campaign aims to promote the benefits of Castrol’s high-performance full-synthetic motor oil to the passionate readers of the most popular Tuner and Performance magazines, including 5.0 Mustang & SuperFords, Eurotuner, Honda Tuning, Import Tuner, Lowrider, Modified Magazine, and Super Street. The campaign is centered on a robust microsite that features a sweepstakes and fresh editorial content, along with online media buys across several of SOURCE INTERLINK MEDIA’s Automotive Digital properties.

The Castrol SYNTEC Top Car Challenge is a five month competition, running now through October 5, 2009, that invites automotive enthusiasts to vote on which reader-owned ride will take the honor of being named Top Car. Editors from each publication will choose a finalist to represent their title as they head into a rigorous testing phase. Readers can view the finalists and follow the results of the testing through videos, blog posts and articles about the contest and vehicles at http://www.syntectopcar.com/. The site will feature exclusive editorial content about the Top Car Challenge and will be regularly updated to keep readers and fans coming back for more.

Fans who visit the microsite can enter the Top Car sweepstakes, which offers those who correctly choose the winning car to enter a drawing worth $10,000. The sweepstakes runs until October 5, 2009.

“SOURCE INTERLINK MEDIA’s Tuner and Performance titles are powerful channels to reach serious automotive enthusiasts,” said Melanie Smith, the Castrol SYNTEC brand manager for Castrol. “The microsite offers a chronicle of a contest that is sure to ignite passion, and it also educates fans about the high performance benefits of Castrol SYNTEC through an interactive and engaging experience.”

The Top Car will ultimately be determined through official testing in ten categories including: lap times, ¼ mile time, ¼ trap speed, horsepower, power-to-weight, emissions, acceleration, braking, endurance, and vehicle cost. The owner of each finalist will win $1,000, while the winning car owner will win a cash prize of $10,000. The winning vehicle will be announced and showcased at this year’s SEMA Show in Las Vegas in November.

“As we saw last year, this level of collaboration and involvement across the SOURCE INTERLINK MEDIA Automotive Digital Network provides a high level of engagement from a readership that is passionate about their cars,” said Howard Lim, vice president and group publisher for SOURCE INTERLINK MEDIA International Automotive Group. “Last year’s award-winning Castrol SYNTEC Top Shop Challenge saw an overwhelming response, and we are optimistic that this year’s contest and sweepstakes will inspire an even deeper level of excitement and participation.”

About Castrol

The Castrol® name has been synonymous with high quality, premium-performing lubricants for more than 100 years. Our leadership brands include Castrol® GTX® — a premium conventional motor oil; Castrol® GTX® High–Mileage™ — designed for vehicles with over 75,000 miles; Castrol® SYNTEC® BLEND™ — with an added level of synthetic protection; Castrol® SYNTEC® — a full–synthetic, premium motor oil; Castrol® EDGE® — an advanced full–synthetic, super-premium motor oil containing PAO; as well as our range of commercial transport lubricants. Castrol products are available from independent lube operators, service providers, new car dealers and leading retailers. To find out more about Castrol products and programs, please call 1–888–CASTROL or log on to www.castrol.com/us.

About SOURCE INTERLINK MEDIA Automotive Digital

SOURCE INTERLINK MEDIA Automotive Digital consists of more than 60 Web sites for its automotive enthusiast titles, each with its own unique content and dedicated editorial staff, and is one of the largest automotive networks on the Web. The group of sites reach more than 16 million unique monthly visitors and generates over 90 million page views each month according to Nielsen Online SiteCensus. SOURCE INTERLINK MEDIA Automotive Digital also includes the Source Interlink In-Market Network of sites that focus on serving the active auto buyer. The In-Market Network includes MotorTrend.com, Automobilemag.com, Automotive.com and IntelliChoice.com.