Hurst Jaws of Life®

711 N. Post Road

Shelby, NC  28150

704-487-6961 phone

704.487.7840 fax

www.jawsoflife.com

Contact: Britt Hawkins

bhawkins@idexcorp.com

NHRA Communications, (626) 914-4761

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

HURST, JAWS OF LIFE® ANNOUNCES SPONSORSHIP OF NHRA

New three-year deal makes Hurst Official Rescue Tool

May 30, 2008

Shelby, North Carolina -- Hurst Jaws of Life announced today the renewal of its sponsorship with the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). With the new three year agreement, Hurst will be titled as the “Official Rescue Tool of the NHRA.”  As part of the agreement, the NHRA will use Hurst Jaws of Life at all of its events which run nationwide.   

Hurst’s roots were established in auto racing when George Hurst, the inventor of the modern hydraulic rescue tool, saw a need with high speed car crashes on the racetrack.  Hurst developed the Hydraulic rescue tool by working with prototypes in the 1960s, finally bringing the tools to fire and rescue departments in 1972.  Hydraulic rescue tools such as the Jaws of Life are used to extricate personnel from vehicles in a crash that would cause them to be trapped inside.  

“We’re delighted to have the NHRA using Hurst Jaws of Life.  The primary concern in auto racing is for the safety and quick extrication of the drivers,” says Aaron Guenther, Director of Marketing for Hurst.  The NHRA will have state of the art equipment at all of its events through its “Safety Safari,” a team of dedicated NHRA emergency services professionals who attend all NHRA national events nationwide.   

Hurst plans to show the capabilities of the rescue tools at select NHRA events during its POWERade Series schedule in 2008.  Attendees at the NHRA races will see live demonstrations of the hydraulic tools in action.  “We’re looking forward to an outstanding relationship with NHRA,” said Guenther. “We plan to capitalize on the racing community’s research and development.  The best of the best exist in NHRA racing when it comes to vehicle design, construction and safety features; this relationship will help us provide new technology for the future.”

About NHRA:

Headquartered in Glendora, Calif., NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States. It presents 24 events through its NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. The NHRA has 80,000 members and 140 member tracks.  The NHRA-sanctioned sportsman and bracket racing series provide competition opportunities for drivers of all levels.  The NHRA develops the stars of tomorrow by offering the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, NHRA Summit Racing Series, NHRA Street Legal Drags presented by AAA and the NHRA O’Reilly Auto Parts Jr. Drag Racing League for youths ages 8 to 17.

About Hurst® Jaws of Life:

Hurst Jaws of Life is a division of Hale Products Inc. Hale Products Inc. is a world leading provider of emergency service products in applications such as defense, rescue, firefighting, and industry, and is one of the largest manufacturers of products in its categories to the emergency services worldwide. Hale Products Inc. is a unit of IDEX Corporation, an applied solutions provider.