Tony Kanaan in the "Mouser Machine" Thrills Fans at Texas
Mouser Hometown Race is One To Remember

Mouser Electronics, Inc., a top design engineering resource and global distributor for semiconductors and electronic components, rallied its support behind champion driver Tony Kanaan during the Firestone 550 IZOD IndyCar race at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday as he raced the No. 11 Mouser Electronics/GEICO/KV Racing Technology Chevrolet/Firestone IndyCar.

"We were absolutely thrilled to sponsor Tony Kanaan here in our hometown," says Larry Johannes, Mouser Electronics’ Vice President of Strategic Marketing. "Tony again showed us his tremendous driving skills, aggressively moving up the grid throughout the race into third position. Near the end of the race, just when he was gunning to take the lead on the back straight, Power’s No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car jutted over and damaged the front wing of Tony’s car. It’s unfortunate, but that’s what makes IndyCar racing exciting."

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The evening showcased another strong driving performance by Kanaan, who placed third at this year’s Indianapolis 500. The seasoned driver expertly navigated through the TMS race field boldly passing the other drivers. He slotted into third place with a little over 50 laps remaining where he remained until lap 188 when he attempted to pass Will Power and take the overall lead. To avoid being passed, Power aggressively moved over to block and severely damaged the right front wing of Kanaan’s #11 Mouser IndyCar. Kanaan was forced to pit for repairs, taking him out of contention for the podium. Power was assessed a penalty for his actions.

For Saturday’s race, Mouser welcomed one of its European customers, Michael Thalhammer and a guest, who won an expense-paid trip from Mouser to the TMS IndyCar event after entering a trade show contest earlier this year at the Embedded World show in Germany. Also, in the stands were several hundred Mouser employees and guests, creating a sea of blue in the stands cheering on Kanaan throughout the race until the end.

On Thursday, Mouser held a race day event at its global corporate headquarters, where its 900-plus employees got the chance to win ticket prizes and meet Kanaan in person, along with Chinese racing sensation Ho-Pin Tung (Tung drove the No. 88 Mouser IndyCar during the 2011 season).

Mouser’s comprehensive IndyCar racing program provides a high-tech platform to showcase its valued supplier partnerships and connect with the industry’s leading electronic design engineers and buyers. Engineers are invited to take the Mouser 500 Challenge, a series of three engineering challenges to help find design solutions to various technical problems relating to the high-speed sport of IndyCar. Joining Mouser as co-sponsors for the 2012 Izod® IndyCar Series are TTI, Inc, Murata, Molex, TE Connectivity, Phoenix Contact, Littelfuse, KEMET, Ohmite, Hammond, Harwin, ebm-papst, Omron, BIVAR, Fluke, and Amphenol.