Sad to see such a nice boat and team going in the crapper.
That the Bud Light Mystic would finish on such a positive note made the end of its racing career somewhat bittersweet. Acquired this year by Belgium-based InBev, Anheuser-Busch is pulling out of its offshore and tunnel-boat racing sponsorships, as well as its poker-run boat sponsorships. The company reportedly also will drop a significant portion of its automobile-racing sponsorships.
“The new owners have a different view of marketing and promotion than the traditional Anheuser-Busch view,” said David Scott, who brought the brewer to the offshore racing sponsorship table and earned several world titles as a driver with Tomlinson throttling. “But we are proud of the professionalism we brought to offshore racing. We are proud of our accomplishments—we were the first offshore boat to break the 200-mph mark and that record still stands—and we’re proud of the value we brought to our sponsor through offshore racing.”
That move leaves Tomlinson in an unusual situation—without a ride for the coming season—after winning yet another World Championship.
“I am a free agent,” Tomlinson said, then he laughed. “AB is out. I’m wide open. I know Dave (Scott) is working on something. I think Mike (Seebold) is out of the boat for good. If the right opportunity in the right boat comes along, I’m in. If it’s not right, I’m out.”
That the Bud Light Mystic would finish on such a positive note made the end of its racing career somewhat bittersweet. Acquired this year by Belgium-based InBev, Anheuser-Busch is pulling out of its offshore and tunnel-boat racing sponsorships, as well as its poker-run boat sponsorships. The company reportedly also will drop a significant portion of its automobile-racing sponsorships.
“The new owners have a different view of marketing and promotion than the traditional Anheuser-Busch view,” said David Scott, who brought the brewer to the offshore racing sponsorship table and earned several world titles as a driver with Tomlinson throttling. “But we are proud of the professionalism we brought to offshore racing. We are proud of our accomplishments—we were the first offshore boat to break the 200-mph mark and that record still stands—and we’re proud of the value we brought to our sponsor through offshore racing.”
That move leaves Tomlinson in an unusual situation—without a ride for the coming season—after winning yet another World Championship.
“I am a free agent,” Tomlinson said, then he laughed. “AB is out. I’m wide open. I know Dave (Scott) is working on something. I think Mike (Seebold) is out of the boat for good. If the right opportunity in the right boat comes along, I’m in. If it’s not right, I’m out.”
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