EXCLUSIVE:  Over Half of Nick Hogan's Race Sponsors Bow Out 

UPDATE:  Information on this case has been updated. Please view & bookmark Celebrity Justice: Nick Bollea page for the latest!

UPDATE:  Wednesday, November 7th, 2007

We have received a response from Governor Charlie Crist's Office. See below.

Saturday, November 3rd, 2007

We tried contacting the Clearwater Police Department's Criminal Investigation Department, but apparently they all go home before 5:00 pm on Fridays.  Many people are wondering what will become of the criminal investigation that is allegedly pending against Nick Bollea, aka Nick Hogan, 17, son of pro wrestler Hulk Hogan (Terry Bollea).

As far as his sponsors go, over half of them (four out of seven) have bowed out.  On his racing website, HoganDrift.com, he lists his sponsors as "Polaroid, BF Goodrich (sic), Sparco, Mac Tools, K-Sport, and Meguiars" (the seventh sponsor, Team Mopar/Nuforms, already bumped Hogan).  We have contacted each of the other six sponsors to see if they are still financing Nick's race car, and here are their responses - three more of them confirmed washing their hands of Nick:

The BFGoodrich Customer Relations Department told us, "While BFGoodrich Tires is a supporting sponsor of the Formula Drift series, it bears no direct relationship with Nick Bollea (aka) Hogan.  Team Mopar/NuFormz prepared the car that Bollea drove at D1 events and had the relationship with Bollea, which expired in April 2007."

They added, "BFGoodrich Tires is a performance brand and we will continue to support several teams who compete in the sport of drifting, including Team Mopar/NuFormz. BFGoodrich is committed to responsible driving habits and will continue to take the rules and regulations of the Formula Drift Series very seriously. We neither encourage nor condone illegal racing on public streets, highways, or roads."

Meguiar's, Inc. told ConnieTalk.com, "Meguiar's is no longer affiliated with Nick Hogan or his team."  They added that Nick was never truly financially sponsored by Meguiar's:  he "may have received a few free products to clean his car and a couple [of] stickers."

Polaroid also bowed out, with Cheryl Mau, VP of Marketing for Polaroid, stating, "We have signed a deal for the 2007, not for 2008.  We do not have a signed sponsorship agreement with Nick Hogan for the 2008 race season," dismissing claims by Nick Hogan just days before on his MySpace page claiming, "I picked up a new sponsor...POLAROID!"  He was saying that Polaroid was sponsoring him for the 2008 racing season, when in fact, they are not.

The only one that seemed unsure of whether or not they will sponsor Bollea in the future was Ksport Suspension Company : they told ConnieTalk.com exclusively, "Our sponsorship agreement for hogandrift has ended for the 2007 race season.  We have yet to review or discuss any sponsorships for the 2008 race season."

Sparco and MacTools did not answer our inquiries.

As TMZ reported, Nick was making a  public appearance at the big SEMA car show in Las Vegas this Thursday; he has been out at various racing events since the accident.

Hogan has a quite a history.  He was once stopped by Florida highway patrol twice in one day (in September 2006): the first time for driving 100 mph, and was issued a warning; the second for driving 115 mph, which he was issued a $305 citation for.  But no points to his record.  Per court records, the ticket was settled without a points infraction to his driver's license.

Shortly before his August accident, Hogan bragged in Rides Magazine that he talked his way out of a ticket three times, when driving from Miami to Clearwater, thanks to his newfound celebrity status through the VH1 Hogan Knows Best series.

"The guy let me off," he said.  "He's like, 'Hey, I know who you are.  Just keep going, ya know.'"

In the issue, which was published in September 2007, he was photographed with four of the Hogans' nine super-vehicles, including the yellow Toyota Supra.  The feature was called "Young and Relentless."  He said he likes to hit Florida's streets, "get on the bridge and smash the gas."

He described the yellow Supra and a yellow Viper as "pussy magnets," saying that when girls see his yellow cars, "panties start dropping off."  And that was when he was 16.

Amongst all the warnings and allowances, he received four other speeding tickets in the last year, according to Florida state driving records.  Last September, he was cited for driving 105 mph in a 70 mph zone in Collier County.  In February, 57 mph in a 30 mph zone in Dade County.  In April, 106 mph in a 70 mph zone in Osceola County.  On August 10th, for 82 mph in a 45 mph construction zone with workers present.

For the traffic citation he received on Aug. 10, Bollea has entered a plea of "nolo contendere," or "no contest."   Judge William Overton adjudicated him guilty and ordered a fine of $1,000, the maximum fine for the offense (speeding in a work zone).

In addition,  Bollea was ordered to complete a 12-hour Driver Improvement Course within 90 days. On the failure to wear seatbelt charge, he was found guilty and fined $73.50.  He didn't appear in court - he entered the plea in writing.

Photographs surfaced and were published by Fox 13 in Tampa Bay of Nick Hogan streetracing again on August 25th.

And again on August 26th, 2007, he took his illegal streetracing too far:  he crashed Hulk Hogan's yellow Toyota Supra sports car, which jumped a raised median and smashed into a palm tree.

Hogan sustained a few non-life-threatening injuries:  a broken arm, some cracked ribs, neck and knee "damage."  He was discharged one day later.  But he's out and about like a spring chicken these days.

On October 16th, the Clearwater, Florida Police Department released a minimal police report, which did state that although the roads were wet, Hogan "disregarded other traffic control."  He was speeding, police say , although they haven't released just how fast.

Clearwater P.D. Spokesman Wayne Shelor called it a "high rate" of speed.  He also said the wreck forced police to shut down mile-long Court Street, the main east-west road through central Clearwater, for hours as the accident was investigated, because it was "a spectacular wreck."

Hogan's passenger, 22-year old active duty Marine John Graziano, who had recently returned from his second tour of duty in Iraq where he narrowly escaped an IED attack, is not so lucky.  Among other injuries suffered, the crash broke Graziano's skull at the base, according to a report from court-appointed doctors and nurses, and months later is still in a "comatose state" and "totally incapacitated."  He can respond to pain stimulus and cough.

On October 23rd, Nick Hogan posted this message on his official MySpace page:

"omggggg its been forever since i blogged...hell i dont even know what blog means but i guess its where you write stuff for people to read anyways my last one was before i even drove for mopar, if you check my pics youll see that i did end up driving for them for my amateur season and most of my pro rookie season. i recently left the mopar team tho...things didnt work out to well but!....i picked up a new title sponsor...POLAROID! and started my own team with twin 350z's pretty cool i know anyways id like everyone to wish my luck for my 08 season and keep john graziano in your prayers"

Hey, nice afterthought!  In the same sentence as he seemingly casually mentions John Graziano, Nick Hogan confirms he is still planning on racing in the 2008 season, which starts sometime in February.

Members of the Hogan family, including Nick and Brooke, have said that John's condition is improving.  In September, Nick said that John will make a full, but slow, recovery.  And although the Graziano family is holding out hope for just that, doctors just don't agree.

Nick Hogan is a kid who was given too much too fast.  And with law enforcement officials in Clearwater documented to have Nick off the hook on previous occasions, and Linda and Terry Bollea/Hogan continuing to let Nick take off in these souped-up rides and participate in racing, who's to stop him?  How is he supposed to learn?

Though no lawsuit has been threatened, Terry Bollea (Hulk Hogan) recently transferred his trademarks to a corporate umbrella Limited Liability Company called 'Hogan Holdings Limited.'  Trademarks transferred were Hulk Hogan, Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Hulkster, Hogan Knows Grillin, Hulkamania.com, Hulkapedia.com, and Paul the Giant Wight (used in boxing contests).  (Thanks to EsmereldaSays for submitting that info!)

Clearwater, Florida Police said they were waiting to see the results of a drug and alcohol test administered to Bollea after the accident.  That was on October 16th.  The accident happened, as we mentioned, on August 26th.

Several witnesses have claimed Nick Hogan was street racing the night of the accident (although Terry Hogan has said that witnesses at the scene deny it).  Danny Jacobs, the driver of a silver Dodge Viper was allegedly racing Hogan moments before he crashed the Supra.  Graziano's mother, in contact with Danny, as well as eyewitnesses, acknowledge this to be true.

Local resident Rabih Cheaib was one of the first eyewitnesses to speak to reporters after the incident, and told The Times he saw the silver Viper return to the scene after Nick's Supra crashed.

"We [saw] a similar car that was racing the silver [Dodge] Viper we'd seen, so it was weird when we recognized it was Hulk's son's Supra," Cheaib told Tampa Bay's WTSP-TV.  He also recognized Danny Jacobs when he came back to the scene after Hogan jumped the median and crashed.

Another eyewitness, Larry Johnson, told WTSP, "We just saw two cars fly by.  It looked like they were definitely racing...definitely taking off very fast."

Police have been mum about it.  TMZ said "police sources" told them the case should be wrapped up by the first week of November, and they will have a decision as to whether or not to press charges.

Excuse me, if I did all of that, you'd better believe they would be pressing charges.  All of the evidence points to reckless endangerment by Nick Bollea.  If any other 17-year old noncelebrity did this, they'd be tried as an adult and sentenced.  And whatever a nonbiased judge decides, so be it.  We are all supposed to be equal under the law.  And obviously, Nick has not received proper parental or authoritative discipline thusfar.

So much for Hogan knows best.

Though the accident has reportedly led to a rift between the Hogan/Bollea and Graziano families, the Graziano's are keeping pretty quiet, deny the rift rumors, and are just praying and hoping.

Want to see justice served?  Is it fair for a celebrity to endanger society and be exempt from the laws we have to abide?  Do something about it.

Copy and paste the following letter to the following sites, and help keep our streets safe, and request equality under the law for all citizens:

To Whom it May Concern: Clearwater, Florida Police said on October 16th that they were waiting to see the results of a drug and alcohol test administered to Nick Bollea, aka Nick Hogan after the August 26th vehicle collision on Court Street in Clearwater, Florida, involving John Graziano and Danny Jacobs. That was on October 16th. The accident happened, as mentioned, on August 26th. Months have gone by, and while the victim of this crash is in a comatose state, Nick Bollea continues to race his vehicle, with no apparent consequences. The Clearwater Florida Police Department has let Bollea off the hook for violations in the past. No update as to the criminal investigation has been posted by police since mid-October. Over two months after the incident, despite admitting that Bollea was speeding, police have seemed reluctant to press any charges against Bollea. From the evidence made available to the public thus far, it is obvious that criminal charges are substantiated in this tragedy. Whether or not the police are properly investigating it, the public is, and the following is a summary of information that incriminates Nick Bollea: http://www.connietalk.com/nickbollea123.html We encourage and demand that you provide equal treatment under the law to all civilians that live in this great country. Additionally, please keep John Graziano, a U.S. Soldier that fought for us in Iraq, and is still in critical and comatose condition, in your thoughts and prayers. Regards, [Your Name]

-The Office of the State Attorney, Sixth Judicial Circuit of Florida, Pinellas County

-The Clearwater Police Department.  This is the contact info for non-emergency concerns.  They don't have an online contact form, but their e-mail address is two scrolls down on this page.

-The Clearwater Mayor and City Council

-The Governor and the Lieutenant Governor of the State of Florida.  Their e-mail addresses are here .

We are sending the same inquiry, and will let you know if we receive any responses.  If you receive one, please feel free to send it to us, and we will post it.

UPDATE:  Wednesday, November 7th, 2007

We have received a response from Governor Charlie Crist's Office:

Dear Connie: Thank you for contacting Governor Charlie Crist. The Governor appreciates your concerns about the investigation of Nick Bollea's automobile accident and asked me to respond on his behalf. Governor Crist sends his heartfelt expression of sympathy to John Graziano and his family.  The Governor's prayers are with John and his family as they struggle through these difficult times. Please understand that the Florida Constitution limits the Governor’s intervention in matters that should be resolved through the court system. Each state attorney is an elected official charged with certain discretionary duties, including the duty to determine whether or not to prosecute any particular crime committed within his or her jurisdiction. This decision is based on the quality and quantity of the evidence of guilt shown, and in the best interest of justice. I encourage you to express your concerns to the Honorable Bernie McCabe, State Attorney for the Sixth Judicial Circuit of Florida.  You can contact State Attorney McCabe by writing to Post Office Box 5028, Clearwater, Florida 33758, or by calling (727) 464-6221.  I also encourage you to express your concerns to the Clearwater Police Department by writing to 645 Pierce Street, Clearwater, Florida 33756, or by calling (727) 562-4242. Thank you again for contacting Governor Crist. The Governor hopes your concerns can be resolved to your satisfaction. Sincerely, Cole Hoopingarner Office of Citizen Services

And we have sent the following reply:

Dear Cole Hoopingarner: We have already contacted State Attorney McCabe's office and the Clearwater Police Department as well. Article IV, Section I of the Florida Constitution: "SECTION 1.  Governor.-- (a)  The supreme executive power shall be vested in a governor, who shall be commander-in-chief of all military forces of the state not in active service of the United States. The governor shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, commission all officers of the state and counties, and transact all necessary business with the officers of government. The governor may require information in writing from all executive or administrative state, county or municipal officers upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices. The governor shall be the chief administrative officer of the state responsible for the planning and budgeting for the state." Perhaps we should take this up with the Head of State instead?  Thank you for your response, I have posted it, unsatisfactory as it may be. Regards, Connie T.

 

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