Bell Sports Acquires Bell Racing, Inc.; Deal Brings Auto Racing Heritage Back to the Bell Family.IRVING, Texas Irving (pronounced 'er-ving') is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within Dallas County. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the city population was 191,615; the 2006 estimate was 201,927 according to the North Central Texas Council of Governments, and 196,084 according to -- Bell Sports, the company that invented the first protective helmets for auto racing, motorcycle riding and cycling over the past 50 years, has reunited all three sports categories and their respective product lines and world champion athletes under one dominant brand force. The company announced today that it has acquired Bell Racing, Inc., maker of industry-leading auto racing helmets and gear. The deal gives Bell Sports exclusive rights to design, market and sell Bell-branded auto racing helmets and accessories in North and South America South America, fourth largest continent (1991 est. pop. 299,150,000), c.6,880,000 sq mi (17,819,000 sq km), the southern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. . Financial terms were not disclosed. Since 2002, sole proprietor Bob Booth has held the rights to the Bell brand for auto racing helmets and accessories in the Americas. Starting in 1954, Bell has earned a reputation for excellence with race-proven products and close collaboration with champions in motorsports, cycling and action sports. The company's research, development and test teams are the most advanced and accomplished in the world, with more patents for design innovation than any other company. More champions in all forms of auto racing have worn Bell helmets than any other brand, including Mario Andretti Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940 in Montona d'Istria, Italy, now Motovun, Croatia) is an Italian American racecar driver, and one of the most successful Americans in the history of auto racing. , Emerson Fittipaldi, Jacques Villeneuve, Richard Petty, Bobby Labonte, Al Unser Sr. and Helio Castroneves. "Driver of the Century" Andretti walked away from a 200-mph-crash while testing his son's car during Indy 500 practice earlier in 2004. Andretti, and every competitive driver in his family, wears Bell helmets. Today, Bell helmets can be found on drivers in NASCAR NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), organization that sanctions American stock-car races, est. 1948. It held its first race in Daytona Beach, Fla. , the Busch/NASCAR Series, the Indy Racing League The Indy Racing League, better known as IRL, is the sanctioning body of a predominantly American based open-wheel racing series. The League consists of two series, the premiere IndyCar Series , the Champ Car Series, the Infiniti Pro Series, the U.S. Auto Club Racing Series and the World of Outlaws The World of Outlaws (often abbreviated WoO) is an American motorsports sanctioning body. The body sanctions two major national touring series. It is best known for sanctioning a national tour of sprint cars. . The Bell Racing product line provides head-to-toe protection, with state-of-the-art helmets, fire suits, belts, shoes and gloves for race car drivers of all ages, pit crew members and racing officials. Bell Racing management, staff and distribution strategies will remain intact and will operate from its current facilities under the direction of Kwai Kong, president of the Specialty Business at Bell Sports. Bell Racing will benefit from Bell Sports' world-class research, design and development teams, among other significant manufacturing and distribution resources available in the Bell family of motorsports, cycling and action sports businesses. Bell Racing is located in Rantoul, Ill. Its products are available through race gear dealers and retailers. About Bell Sports Bell Sports is the world's leading designer and marketer of helmets and accessories for auto racing, powersports, bicycling and other action sports. The company markets helmets and accessories under the Bell, Giro giro Noun pl -ros 1. (in some countries) a system of transferring money within a bank or post office, directly from one account into another 2. (R), Blackburn(R), CoPilot(TM), X Games X Games Sports medicine The official Olympics of 'extreme sports' sponsored by ESPN, held annually during the summer. See Extreme sports. , West Coast Choppers West Coast Choppers is a company best known for selling chopper-style motorcycles. Some of their more well-known customers include celebrities such as Shaquille O'Neal, Keanu Reeves, Kid Rock, James Hetfield, Tyson Beckford, and The Undertaker. , Batman, Barbie(TM), Hot Wheels(TM) and Fisher Price(TM) brands. Headquartered in Irving, Texas, the company has operations in Santa Cruz, Calif.; Rantoul, Ill.; York, Penn.; Limerick, Ireland; and Hong Kong. Bell Sports sells its products in 45 countries. More information is available at www.bellsports.com. |
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