Formula Drift’s Matt Coffman Signs New Sponsor

July 18, 2014

Formula Drift professional race driver Matt Coffman has signed biofuel manufacturer Thunderbolt Fuel as his newest sponsor. 

The new partnership is also part of Coffman Racing’s well-known interest in being a professional race team that has a zero carbon footprint. For Thunderbolt’s President, Mark Smith, Matt Coffman’s team, Coffman Racing, isn’t the first racing team his biofuel company has been involved with, but it is the first professional racing team he has sponsored.

“I had seen videos of Matt,” says Smith, “but after meeting him and talking to him I knew it was a perfect fit.  It just seemed right.”  Thunderbolt Fuel, part of Summit Natural Energy, a division of Oregon based Summit Natural Foods, moved into biofuel in 2009 as the company sought efficient and eco-friendly methods to dispose of the waste left behind after manufacturing its food products.  “We’re a food company at heart,” explains Smith, “but we learned making biofuel just fit with making things “good” for the planet.

Coffman Racing Team Manager, Jeff Mailley is equally as enthusiastic, adding, “Matt and the rest of our team have always been committed to a zero carbon footprint.  I had initially approached Mark [Smith] about fuel and in only a few minutes he and I knew we shared some common values.  We knew it was going to go somewhere.”  Smith agrees, adding, “We’re very excited to work with Matt, Jeff and the entire Coffman Racing crew.”