Cheever lands Red Bull sponsorship.

Cheever Indy Racing has secured Red Bull energy drink as a major sponsor for the 2002 Indy Racing Northern Light Series season.

The sponsorship of Cheever Indy Racing and owner/driver Eddie Cheever Jr. is part of Red Bull's aggressive worldwide marketing campaign. The energy drink has been a big seller in Europe and now is gaining popularity in the United States.

Besides its sponsorship of Cheever Indy Racing, Red Bull will also continue its support of the OrangeArrows team in Formula One.

There is a connection between OrangeArrows and 1998 Indianapolis 500 winner Cheever, as Orange Arrows principal Tom Walkinshaw and Cheever worked together in sports car racing in the late 1980s. Walkinshaw's company TWR also works closely with the Infiniti Indy V8 engine project in the Indy Racing League.

"We broke a 30-year winless streak for Jaguar," Cheever said of his prior racing relationship with Walkinshaw. "Our paths have crossed again, and this time we are focused on helping Nissan become the first Japanese manufacturer to win the Indianapolis 500. In this endeavor, we are incredibly excited to partner with Red Bull, the world leader in energy drinks."

"Red Bull has successfully built a motorsports marketing plan for their product, and we are proud to be the focus of their US efforts. Red Bull is now involved with two of the world's largest single-day sporting events, the Indianapolis 500 with Cheever Indy Racing and the United States Grand Prix with the OrangeArrows Formula One team."

Dieter Mateschitz, managing partner of Austrian-based Red Bull said: "Tom (Walkinshaw) and I share the same vision of wanting to develop a US motorsport strategy alongside our Formula One interests. I am pleased to confirm therefore that the Red Bull logo will be seen at the heart of US motorsport in the IRL with Team Cheever as well as in Formula One with Arrows."

Cheever finished eighth in the final Indy Racing Northern Light Series standings in 2001 with a victory at Kansas Speedway. He will return in 2002 for his seventh season of Indy Racing.

"Next year's competition is going to be fierce in the Indy Racing League, but with the technical tools that Nissan, TWR and Cheever Indy Racing have at hand, we are confident we will make a serious run at winning the Indianapolis 500 and the series championship," Cheever said. "This is only the first step in our plans for the 2002 season. We are continuing to pursue a variety of other sponsorship opportunities to further strengthen the team. We hope to roll out our entire program with a formal announcement later in the offseason."