In this day and age of economic turmoil and tightening of the purse strings on advertising budgets, even motorsports partnerships once thought unbreakable are suddenly no longer a given from one year to the next. So to hear a marketing partner proclaim their commitment to a racer for the remainder of their driving career is quite an unparalleled statement.

Of course the racer in question is 82 years old and seemingly growing younger by the day, but nonetheless, that’s not something you hear very often in marketing meetings.

Image credit: Mark J. Rebilas

Lucas Oil founder Forrest Lucas, one of the most loyal supporters of virtually every facet of motorsports, announced today a unique sponsorship agreement with the ageless “Golden Greek” Chris Karamesines that will continue as long as the drag racing legend competes behind the wheel of his Top Fuel Dragster.

Lucas Oil first jumped on board with Karamesines’ part-time operation in 2011 for seven national events to race review from fans the media, as it allowed the popular driver to remain on the tour for yet another year.

“The Greek is a legend in our sport,” Lucas said. “He’s a great ambassador for drag racing and our line of products, and we’re happy to partner with him again. I look forward to seeing the Greek’s dragster go down the track with our colors on his car for many years to come.”

Karamesines, a native of Chicago, competed in 13 Full Throttle national events last season in Top Fuel, qualifying at four of those. At Bristol in June, Karamesines created one of the heartwarming stories of the year when he earned his first round win at an NHRA national event since 1990. At 82 years of age, Karamesines has virtually seen it all, beginning his career in the 1950’s and winning a slew of NHRA, IHRA, and AHRA national events on his way to being named one of the NHRA’s Top 50 Drivers of All-Time in 2001.

“I appreciate Forrest helping us out the way he does,” Karamesines said. “We’ll get to as many Top Fuel races as we can and will do our best for Lucas Oil. What they’ve done for our sport is tremendous and it’s cool to have them on our car. We’re very appreciative of their support.”

Kudos to the folks at Lucas Oil, and here’s to wishing “the Greek” some win lights in 2012!