HARMAN was a proud passenger when Kia Motors celebrated its first Grand Am racing circuit victory in the Kia Infinity Audio No. 10 race car on April 9, 2011.  Drivers Michael Galati and Nic Jőnsson mastered the Barber 200 course in Birmingham, Alabama ahead of a pack of 30 competitors in the Street Tuner (ST) event.  Sister vehicle Infinity Audio No. 12 also finished in the top ten, delighting numerous Kia dealers and employees in attendance.

The Kia Motorsports program, which was unveiled in November 2009, includes two Kia Forte Koup race cars that made their first entrance into the race world at the 2010 GRAND-AM KONI Sports Car Challenge.  The team has posted two previous top-ten finishes during its brief history.

“It’s nearly unheard of for a second-year racing program to stand on top of the podium, and today was a special day for Kia Motors and Kinetic Motorsports,” said Jönsson. “It’s even better that we were able to deliver our first win with so many Kia dealers and team members from the plant here, and this result would not have been possible without the tireless efforts and commitment from every member of our racing team.”

The Infinity Audio mobile display was on hand to welcome visitors over the weekend event, unveiling the company’s latest audio innovations to some 80,000 racing fans.

A few days earlier, officials from Kia and HARMAN gathered at the automaker’s West Point, Georgia plant, home of the Infinity-equipped Kia Sorrento model.  More than 700 team members and employees visited displays hosted by Harman brands Infinity, JBL and Harman Kardon, including Kia US President Byung Mo Ahn and Vice President of Marketing, Michael Sprague.

Kia Motors currently offers Infinity audio systems from HARMAN on six premium packaged vehicles, including the 2011 Sorento, Optima, Borrego, Sedona, Amanti and Rondo.  The two companies have been frequent marketing partners at the Detroit Auto Show and similar high-profile events.