Jeremy Mayfield Unveils New Mobil 1 Sony/WEGA Ford Taurus for Talladega

MOORESVILLE, N.C., April 19 When Penske Racing unloads at Talladega SuperSpeedway this week, they will not roll out the familiar blue and white Ford... In it¹s place, the silver and black with a hint of red; Jeremy Mayfield will pilot the Sony/WEGA Ford Taurus for the first time this season.

Sony Electronics and Penske Racing began their relationship prior to the 2001 season with Sony¹s eye on winning the Winston Cup Championship in their first-ever full season of NASCAR sponsorship. Jeremy hopes he can start that championship run with a big win Sunday.

"We¹ll have the Sony paint scheme on the car this week, and it looks great," said Mayfield, currently 22nd in the points race with two 3rd-place finishes to his credit. "Having Sony and WEGA on the car is a great deal, and we¹re really excited to have Sony on our team. They have added a lot to our race team in several ways. Talladega is a perfect example of that. The right line for qualifying is absolutely crucial. Having the WEGA high performance television gives me the chance to watch what other cars are doing for their qualifying runs, either live during the FOX Sports Net broadcast in the early part of qualifying or on tape from practice Friday morning. You hear about football and basketball coaches using tape to prepare. Well, it means a lot to race car drivers too. Watching the tapes and live broadcasts can show you a lot; having a high quality television like the WEGA gives us a chance to see all of the subtleties that the other teams are using."

Sony is happy to help any way they can to improve the performance of the race team. The award-winning FD Trinitron® WEGA® television has been the standard-bearer in television performance since it's introduction three years ago, and with a new line being introduced for 2001, Sony will continue to revolutionize the way the world watches television.

"We¹re so excited about this weekend," said Tim Alessi, director of Sony Electronics¹ Television Marketing Group. "This is really a big event for Sony. WEGA has raised the bar in television performance, and we're using our association with Jeremy Mayfield and Penske Racing to show race fans just how great a television can be. We're looking for more ways to incorporate it into our marketing plans through dealer events, our track exhibit and in other ways. This is the tip of the iceberg, really. There will be a lot of Sony eyes on Jeremy this weekend rooting him to victory."

And a victory this weekend is not unrealistic. Jeremy Mayfield is one of the most successful NASCAR Winston Cup drivers in 500-mile races the past few seasons.

In fact, no driver won more 500-mile races last season than Mayfield and his Mobil 1 Taurus. His recent career record in races of 500 miles in length or more is incredible - he has either led and/or won the pole and/or finished in the top 10 in 10 of the last 12 such races; 16 of the last 21 and 23 of the last 35.

Statistics, schmatistics though. Mayfield has a simple formula for success at a high-speed track like Talladega.

"Luck. Horsepower. Aerodynamics,² he says. ³Get all of those working for you and it can be a good day. That¹s what we¹re looking at doing with this Mobil 1 Sony/WEGA Taurus team."

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For more information, see related websites: wegaracing.com sony.com sonystyle.com penskeracing.com

Kinnon Marshall Co-Pilott PR 704-655-8853