Major League Baseball Speeds Into High Gear With 2001 All-Star Game Race Car; Dale Earnhardt Jr. to Drive Specially-Designed Budweiser Car

    NEW YORK--(BW SportsWire)--April 20, 2001--Major League Baseball will bring the excitement of the 2001 All-Star Game to the NASCAR racing circuit with a specially-designed car driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr., it was announced today.
    Budweiser, the Official Beer of Major League Baseball and NASCAR, and Dale Earnhardt Incorporated (DEI) will team with Major League Baseball to promote the 2001 Mid-Summer Classic by incorporating a special All-Star Game paint scheme on Earnhardt Jr.'s # 8 Budweiser Monte Carlo. Earnhardt Jr. will drive the 2001 All-Star Game car in two NASCAR Winston Cup series races, May 19 at Lowe's Motor Speedway and July 7 at Daytona International Speedway. The 72nd All-Star Game will be played on July 10 at SAFECO Field in Seattle.
    "Major League Baseball is very excited to bring the thrill of our summer jewel event to the fast-paced world of NASCAR and its legions of fans," said Tim Brosnan, Executive Vice President, Business for Major League Baseball. "By joining with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Budweiser for this program, the 2001 All-Star Game race car to is sure to be a tremendous success both on and off the track."
    "Budweiser is proud to sponsor both Major League Baseball and NASCAR, and we're always looking for creative, impactful ways to cross-promote our sports properties," said Tony Ponturo, vice president of corporate media and sports marketing, Anheuser-Busch, Inc. "Our Budweiser MLB All-Star Game car is a great way to take advantage of NASCAR's popularity to help generate additional excitement for the upcoming summer classic."
    The specially designed paint scheme features a white body with red baseball stitching painted around the bottom of the body and over the roof. The 2001 All-Star Game logo is on the hood while Earnhardt Jr.'s # 8 appears in red on the roof and both side panels. Between the red # 8 and the Budweiser logo on each side panel are images of baseball players pitching and running, while a player in mid swing is on the rear television panel adjacent to the "MLB on Fox" logo for the May 19 race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Earnhardt Jr.'s racing suit is white with pinstripes, red upper sleeves and thick red piping down the sides of the legs with the 2001 MLB All-Star Game logo appearing on the back.
    To celebrate this unique partnership between Major League Baseball, Budweiser and Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Action Performance Inc. -- a leader in licensed motorsports merchandise -- will develop a full-line of collectibles including die-cast replicas of the 2001 All-Star Game car, baseball caps, t-shirts, and other assorted novelty items. The collectibles will be available for sale trackside, through specialty motorsports catalogs and online at MLB.com.
    In Addition, from May 15 to June 15 fans may register to win a "Dale Earnhardt Jr. MLB All-Star Experience" at Budweiser.com. The grand prize winner will receive a trip for two to meet Earnhardt Jr. during All-Star Workout Day, a chance to take batting practice at SAFECO Field, along with tickets to both the Century 21 Home Run Derby and the 2001 MLB All-Star Game.
    The 2001 All-Star Game will be televised live in the United States on FOX Sports and around the world by MLB International.