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Polaroid Says It's Not Backing Bollea's 2008 Race Season

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By CHRIS ECHEGARAY, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 25, 2007

Special Report: Previous Coverage, Videos, Photo Galleries

Polaroid is not sponsoring Nick Bollea for the 2008 racing season, according to the company's vice president of marketing, Cheryl Mau.

Nick Bollea

Mau sent an e-mail in response to an interview request. Mau declined to comment.

Bollea, son of famed wrestler Hulk Hogan, has Polaroid listed as a sponsor of his race car team, the Polaroid Drift Team, on his Web site, www.hogandrift.com.

Bollea, 17, boasted about his upcoming sponsorship on a blog on MySpace, according to TMZ.com, a celebrity Web site.

Bollea was speeding when he wrecked his 1998 Toyota Supra, critically injuring passenger John Graziano on Aug. 26, police said. Graziano, a 22-year-old Marine who served in Iraq, suffered brain damage in the accident, according to a family member.

After the accident, Bollea was supposed to drive in a drift show on Sept. 16 in Atlanta, according to Lukas Gilkey of Audio Junkies, who was at a car audio competition.

"I saw a 350Z with Polaroid on it and I knew who it belonged to," said Gilkey, who took a picture of the Polaroid-sponsored car.

Hogan's announcement of the sponsorship drew criticism from readers who've posted comments on the various Web sites, including TBO.com, planetfeedback.com and TMZ.com.

Efforts to reach Bollea's attorney, Kevin Hayslett, were unsuccessful.

Graziano's lawyer, George Tragos, said Tuesday that the young driver should keep a low profile until the matter is resolved.

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