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TULSA, Okla. (June 22, 2021) – Major League Fishing (MLF), the world’s premier tournament-fishing organization, and CarParts.com (NASDAQ: PRTS), an industry leading technology-driven eCommerce company that simplifies the way drivers shop for automotive parts, announced a new partnership designating CarParts.com as the Exclusive Auto Parts Retailer of the MLF Bass Pro Tour and the Title Sponsor of the MLF Bass Pro Tour CarParts.com Stage Seven Presented by Covercraft at Lake St. Clair, scheduled for Sept. 10-15 in St. Clair Shores, Michigan.

“We are very pleased to announce our latest sponsorship agreement with CarParts.com, an industry-leading brand and a highly-regarded company that perfectly aligns with Major League Fishing,” MLF President and CEO Jim Wilburn said. “The reach of MLF provides our sponsors an appealing platform to showcase their brands. Our fans and anglers have shown tremendous loyalty to our sponsors’ products and we are confident that CarParts.com will find this sponsorship extremely beneficial.”

CarParts.com will be prominently featured throughout the Bass Pro Tour Stage Seven event, including in-studio signage, graphic elements, and the opportunity to activate at the event in St. Clair Shores. In addition to the title sponsorship, MLF will work with CarParts.com to produce a series of custom content videos, showcasing MLF professional anglers who are auto enthusiasts as they perform their own automobile repairs and maintenance.

“We are thrilled to join the MLF family as the Exclusive Auto Parts Retailer of this year’s Bass Pro Tour and to be the go-to parts solution for all fishing fans,” said CarParts.com Chief Marketing Officer Houman Akhavan. “This partnership will allow us to reach a core demographic of truck owners who enjoy working on their vehicles. Whether you’re towing to the lake or just packing up for a camping trip, we want to make sure our customers can spend more time enjoying the outdoors and less time worrying about the reliability of their vehicle.”

The MLF NOW!® livestream will showcase all six days of competition from the CarParts.com Stage Seven Presented by Covercraft at Lake St. Clair live on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app. Television coverage of the event will premiere at 7 a.m. ET, Nov. 13 on the Discovery Channel. New two-hour MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel.

With brand and factory-direct self-distribution, CarParts.com offers a wide selection of new, quality auto parts for car repair, maintenance, and collision as well as accessories. Paired with their online vehicle selector, fast shipping, and satisfaction guarantee, CarParts.com ensures that drivers can get what they need, when they need it. To share their mission with more and more drivers, CarParts.com has joined forces with a number of esteemed partners—including Front Row Motorsports and NASCAR Cup Series driver Michael McDowell, the Professional Fighters League, and Donut Media—and looks forward to helping MLF fans get from point A to point B with confidence as well.

For more information about MLF, their tournaments and sponsors, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. To learn more about CarParts.com, visit their website at CarParts.com.

About CarParts.com
With over 25 years of experience, and more than 50 million parts delivered, we’ve streamlined our website and sourcing network to better serve the way drivers get the parts they need. Utilizing the latest technologies and design principles, we’ve created an easy-to-use, mobile-friendly shopping experience that, alongside our own nationwide distribution network, cuts out the brick-and-mortar supply chain costs and provides quality parts at a budget-friendly price.

CarParts.com (NASDAQ: PRTS) is headquartered in Torrance, California.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, the Discovery Channel, the Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, the World Fishing Network, the Sportsman Channel and on-demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with offices in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 13 countries. In 2019 MLF acquired FLW and rebranded it as MLF BIG5, which expanded its portfolio of catch, weigh and immediate release events to include the sport’s strongest five-biggest-fish format tournament circuits. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams, and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.

Major League Fishing – WE ARE Bass Fishing

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Harrison, Tennessee Pro Smashes Multiple Bass Pro Tour Weight Records to Earn Record-Setting Fourth Career Bass Pro Tour Victory and $100,000 Top Prize

MASSENA, N.Y. (June 30, 2021) – After breaking nearly every major weight record on the Bass Pro Tour this week, Academy Sports + Outdoors pro Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee, added another accolade to his resume Wednesday. Wheeler caught 35 scorable bass weighing 129 pounds even to earn his fourth career Bass Pro Tour victory – the most all-time – and the top prize of $100,000 at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour General Tire Stage Five at the St. Lawrence River Presented by Berkley in Massena, New York.

Among the Bass Pro Tour records that Wheeler set this week was the single-day heaviest weight – 165 pounds, 1 ounce, that he weighed on Day 1 – the heaviest two-day qualifying round weight – 222 pounds, 1 ounce – and the most weight ever weighed in a Championship Round – 129 pounds even – that he set Wednesday. With his latest victory, the 30-year-old pro pushed his career earnings to more than $2.6 million.

“I was fortunate to have a solid practice for this event. I didn’t know what I could catch, and I didn’t know what it would take to win, because it was so crazy out here on the St. Lawrence River,” Wheeler said. “To officially be the champion… I don’t think I’ve ever won on smallmouth on a natural river system, so this feels unbelievable.”

While the final tally on SCORETRACKER® may seem as though it was an easy win for Wheeler, the Tennessee pro found himself in seventh place after a slow start Period 1 with only five smallmouth for 21-8. As he prepared to start his afternoon, Wheeler made the decision to run to an area he found while practicing during his final Qualifying Round.

Thanks to a more than 30-pound cushion in that round, Wheeler was able to scout new areas and find fish for the Championship Round. They were also fish that he knew he could count on because of the area they were located.

“I was looking for fish in the places that had the most wind, because I knew that those areas wouldn’t be fished as much,” Wheeler explained. “I knew that if I was going to have two days off the water that I was going to need to find fish that would be there when I got back in the Championship Round, so I found a spot that was getting beat on by the wind out of the southwest a ton. I knew other guys wouldn’t want to mess with that area because if it was windy like it was, the waves wouldn’t be fun to deal with for flogging and sight fishing.

“I’ve been in a handful of situations like this one right here, and there is nothing like a plan coming together perfectly,” Wheeler went on to say. “I cherish every single win, every single top-10. It’s something that you’re never guaranteed so you have to make sure to take a step back and appreciate these moments. This one right here was special. I cannot wait to celebrate with my wife and my little one.”

Toro pro Jeff Sprague of Point, Texas, matched his career-best finish on the Bass Pro Tour with his second-place showing at the event.

“Finished in second, so close once again,” Sprague said in his post-game interview. “One of these days we’re going to figure out how to win one of these events. But I’m still super excited about my finish this week. We fished extremely hard today, I even ran around this morning and fished new water and tried to make something happen. It was a crazy, amazing week here in New York and I’m thrilled to bank another top-10 finish.”

The top 10 pros at the Bass Pro Tour General Tire Stage Five at the St. Lawrence River finished:

1^st:        Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 35 bass, 129-0, $100,000
2^nd:       Jeff Sprague, Point, Texas, 26 bass, 100-6, $45,000
3^rd:       Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif., 31 bass, 91-1, $38,000
4^th:       Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., 28 bass, 86-15, $32,000
5^th:       Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 27 bass, 86-15, $30,000
6^th:       Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 25 bass, 84-1, $26,000
7^th:       Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, 24 bass, 83-2, $23,000
8^th:       Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., 17 bass, 73-14, $21,000
9^th:       Bradley Roy, Lancaster, Ky., 13 bass, 46-2, $19,000
10^th:     John Cox, DeBary, Fla., 12 bass, 38-3, $16,000

A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

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MASSENA, N.Y. (June 29, 2021) – Pro Gerald Spohrer of Gonzales, Louisiana, caught 35 scorable bass Tuesday weighing 130 pounds, 8 ounces to win the Knockout Round and advance to the final day of competition at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour General Tire Stage Five at the St. Lawrence River Presented by Berkley in Massena, New York. The final 10 anglers are now set, and competition will resume Wednesday morning with the Championship Round. Weights are zeroed, and the angler that catches the most weight will win the top prize of $100,000.

The six-day tournament, hosted by the Town of Massena and Fish Massena, featured 80 of the top professional anglers from around the world competing for a purse of $805,000, including a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner.

The top eight pros from Tuesday’s Knockout Round that will compete in Wednesday’s Championship Round on the St. Lawrence River are:

1^st:        Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., 35 bass, 130-8
2^nd:       Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 38 bass, 121-3
3^rd:       Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif., 40 bass, 117-14
4^th:       Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, 34 bass, 113-11
5^th:       Jeff Sprague, Point, Texas, 35 bass, 113-2
6^th:       Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., 29 bass, 109-4
7^th:       Bradley Roy, Lancaster, Ky., 33 bass, 109-1
8^th:       Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 31 bass, 106-13

They’ll be joined by Qualifying Round Winners:

Group A: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn.
Group B: John Cox, DeBary, Florida

“It feels great to finish the Knockout Round in first place, but tomorrow is when it really matters,” said Spohrer, who earned his third Championship Round appearance of the season. “It was a tough second period, but after the storm came through it got slick and sunny and I was able to see everything in my area and there were just 4-pounders everywhere.

“I went through and just plucked them off, one at a time,” Spohrer continued. “It was pretty much a mix between a drop-shot rig and a little Ned-style bait. I’ve gotten here this week with a marabou jig, but today I sight-fished because it was calm.

“I’m pumped up for tomorrow,” Spohrer went on to say. “This is my third top-10 finish this year in five tournaments and we’re right in the hunt for the Angler of the Year title. To win another round – it’s been a great season and I am so blessed.”

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MASSENA, N.Y. (June 28, 2021) – Berkley pro John Cox of DeBary, Florida, caught 23 scorable bass Monday weighing 75 pounds, 15 ounces to win the two-day Qualifying Group B round at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour General Tire Stage Five at the St. Lawrence River Presented by Berkley in Massena, New York. Cox’s two-day total of 54 bass weighing 175 pounds even earned him the victory by a 23-pound, 11-ounce margin and advances him directly into Wednesday’s final-day Championship Round of competition.

Phoenix Boats pro James Elam of Tulsa, Oklahoma caught a two-day total of 51 bass weighing 151-5 to end the round in second place, and Shelby, North Carolina pro Bryan Thrift finished the round in third place with a two-day total of 51 bass weighing 149-11.

The remaining 38 anglers – 19 from Group A and 19 from Group B – will now compete Tuesday in the Knockout Round, where weights are zeroed, and the anglers compete to finish in the top eight to advance to Championship Wednesday. Wednesday’s Championship Round will feature Group A winner Jacob Wheeler, Group B winner John Cox, and the top eight anglers from the Knockout Round competing in a final-day shootout for the top prize of $100,000.

“Oh my gosh, I feel like I won the tournament, just making it to the Championship Round,” said an excited Cox. “I’ve never won one of these rounds before, so this is a new experience for me. I’m really excited to be able to allow the fish to rest a little before the next round.

“Ten of us are going to compete for $100,000 on Wednesday – I don’t even know what to say. Not sure if I’m having a mild heart attack or if the red bull is just really kicking in,” continued Cox. “I caught a ton of fish today and found some exciting stuff in the third period that should help us out in the next round. On the last cast, there were probably 15 fish that came in when I shook that 4 pounder off. I can’t wait to get back out there – it’s going to be awesome.

“I’ve been using the new 7-foot, medium action Abu Garcia Fantasista Premier spinning rod – it bends perfectly and handles the fish on the light line. I’m throwing 8-pound, Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon, on the Abu Garcia REVO MGXtreme Spinning Reel. It has a super-smooth drag and allows me to fight the fish really well.”

Cox said his key baits came down to the Berkley Powerbait Maxscent The General Worm and the Berkley Powerbait Maxscent Hit Worm.

“I never even had these smaller Berkley General worms until a couple years ago because I figured the 5 inch was plenty small enough,” continued Cox. “They didn’t want the 5-inch today, but they ate this 4-inch one up really well.

“The Maxscent Hit Worm was an accidental win today. I had no idea it would work that well – I’d never heard of anyone catching smallmouth with it. I put it on to save some Flat Worms and they’ve just been killing it today.”

With a full day off, Cox said he plans to take his kids tubing down below the locks and is looking forward to enjoying the family time prior to Wednesday’s competition.

“This event has been awesome. I can’t wait to get back out there for the Championship Round,” said Cox. “This place is full of fish – it’s just been unreal.”

The top 20 pros in Qualifying Group B that now advance to Tuesday’s Knockout Round on the St. Lawrence River are:

1^st:           John Cox, DeBary, Fla., 54 bass, 175-0
2^nd:          James Elam, Tulsa, Okla., 51 bass, 151-5
3^rd:          Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 51 bass, 149-11
4^th:           Terry Scroggins, San Mateo, Fla., 49 bass, 149-2
5^th:           Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., 44 bass, 132-10
6^th:           Jared Lintner, Arroyo Grande, Calif., 41 bass, 127-1
7^th:           Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., 33 bass, 126-6
8^th:           Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., 35 bass, 125-9
9^th:           Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 42 bass, 125-6
10^th:        Britt Myers, Lake Wylie, S.C., 44 bass, 123-14
11^th:        Brett Hite, Phoenix, Ariz., 37 bass, 122-14
12^th:        Luke Clausen, Spokane, Wash., 41 bass, 116-15
13^th:        Fletcher Shryock, Guntersville, Ala., 37 bass, 114-15
14^th:        John Murray, Spring City, Tenn., 38 bass, 110-11
15^th:        Shin Fukae, Osaka, Japan, 29 bass, 104-12
16^th:        David Walker, Sevierville, Tenn., 36 bass, 102-12
17^th:        Matt Lee, Cullman, Ala., 32 bass, 100-0                         
18^th:        Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., 31 bass, 96-9
19^th:        Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 34 bass, 96-6
20^th:        Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C., 34 bass, 94-14

A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

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