Salem, IN (February 7, 2012) – Champion Racing Association officials have announced that the Harris Products Group has agreed to continue its sponsorship of the Harris Products Group Season Lap Leader Awards with the ARCA/CRA Super Series for the upcoming 2012 season. The Harris Products Group will award the ARCA/CRA Super Series driver that leads the most laps in the regular 100/125-lap series point’s events on the 2011 Northern schedule with a set of Harris Products Group Cutting Torches.

In addition, The Harris Products Group will award the driver who leads the most laps in the extra lap special events on the 2012 ARCA/CRA Super Series Northern schedule with a set of Harris Products Group Cutting Torches. The special events will be races more than 125 laps in length, including The Rowdy 251 at Berlin Raceway, the Redbud 300 at Anderson Speedway and the Winchester 400. Both awards will be presented at the 2012 Champion Racing Association Awards Banquet. This will be the ninth consecutive season that the Harris Products Group has been a sponsor of the ARCA/CRA Super Series.

Three time ARCA/CRA Super Series Champion Scott Hantz won the Harris Products Group Season Lap Leader Award for the 2011 season in the100/125 lap events. Hantz finished with a total of 155 laps lead in those events, topping Becca Kasten who was in second with 121 laps lead. It was the fourth year in a row that Hantz has been a winner in one of the lap leader award categories.

Teenage racing sensation Chase Elliott, son of NASCAR great Bill Elliott, was the Harris Products Group Season Lap Leader Award in the special event extra distance Super Series races in 2011. Elliott finished with a total of 264 laps lead in the Redbud 300 and Winchester 400 to barely beat out 2011 series Champion and Rookie of the Year Derrick Griffin by two laps.

The Harris Products Group will also continue their sponsorship of the Harris Products Group Sportsman of the Year Award for both the CRA Late Model Sportsman Series and CRA Street Stock Series again in 2012. The award will be presented at the 2012 Champion Racing Association Awards Banquet and will consist of a $300 Product Certificate from the Harris Products Group. The winner of each award will be voted on by series officials and will be the driver in each division who best represents the sport of auto racing both on and off the track during the 2012 season. Charlie Hanna was the 2011 Harris Products Group CRA Late Model Sportsman Series Sportsman of the Year Award winner while J.J. Schafer won the award in the CRA Street Stocks.

The Harris Products Group is a world　leader in metal working products used in the brazing, soldering, welding, cutting　and gas distribution industries. The company was formed in 2006 with the merger of Harris Calorific, Inc., a manufacturer of gas welding and cutting equipment and gas regulation and distribution systems, and the J.W. Harris Co., a manufacturer of brazing and soldering alloys and welding consumables. The Harris Products Group currently operates manufacturing facilities in Mason, Ohio, USA; Gainesville, Georgia, USA, Dzierzonow, Poland, and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Each is ISO 9001 certified for quality management systems.

The Harris Products Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Lincoln Electric Company, the world leader in the design, development and manufacture of arc welding products, robotic welding systems,　plasma and oxy-fuel cutting equipment. More information can be found at www.harrisproductsgroup.com.