The rodeo is coming to the Brainerd Wal-Mart on Thursday, but you won’t be seeing horses, cattle and cowboys at the Tire and Lube Express Center. Instead the public will have the opportunity of seeing some of the company’s top automotive technicians competing in an oil-change contest that will result in the winning team advancing to the national finals.
Eleven teams consisting of four members each representing 134 TLEs in the region will compete in a 15-point Lube Inspection that will be judged on speed, accuracy and procedure. The event which gets underway at 7:45am with opening ceremonies and concludes at 2pm, is taking place on the one-year anniversary of the grand opening of the Greenway View Drive location. The Chattanooga rodeo which is sponsored by Castrol GTX, is one of 25 regional competitions to determine which teams will travel to Wal-Mart headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas in October for the championship.
As part of the celebration, the 18 national sponsors of the Lube Rodeo will have numerous displays, giveaways and competitions in the TLE and storefront parking lots.
The Castrol GTX truck will be on display in a rare appearance. Customers will compete to see who can change a tire the quickest at the Goodyear tent. Segway rides will be available at the Michelin tent and the BF Goodrich tent will be housed with remote control monster trucks that customers can navigate. A NASCAR simulator car will also be on the premises.
Pepsi will provide beverages and Chester Cheetah of Frito-Lay will be handing out samples.
Brainerd TLE Manager Tracy Massey, who has released a gospel CD, will be singing the national anthem during the opening ceremonies.
The rodeo winners will be announced at an awards dinner Thursday evening at the downtown Clarion Hotel.