Fort Worth Man Wins First-Ever Nationwide Virtual Car Show; Mark Bartle Beats Out 1,983 Others to Take "Best of Show" with 1967 Shelby GT350

    PHILADELPHIA--June 20, 2001--Pep Boys , the nation's leading full-service automotive aftermarket retail and service chain, today crowned Mark Bartle of Fort Worth, Texas, one of four overall winners and the "Best of Show" recipient in the first ever "Virtual Car Show," a nationwide competition to showcase some of America's finest cars.
    Bartle, with his 1967 Shelby GT350, beat out 1,980 entrants from 48 states to take top honors in this first-of-its-kind event.
    The Pep Boys Virtual Car Show, held via the Internet, allowed automobile enthusiasts throughout the country to enter, view and/or vote for various makes and models of cars, trucks, vans and SUVs from the past and present, all without leaving their home or office.
    "The great thing about the Virtual Car Show was that it gave car enthusiasts like me a chance to compete on a nationwide scale," said Bartle, a manufacturing engineer who builds military jets for Lockheed Martin. "Few people outside of Texas have seen my car and Pep Boys helped bring the beauty of car shows to a much wider audience."
    That crowd got even more broad last week, when Bartle's Shelby was unveiled at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, the morning of the museum's annual gala, which attracted thousands of stars, race fans and automobile enthusiasts. The museum showcase is part of Bartle's "Best of Show" prize.
    "Everyone at Pep Boys is very excited for Mark," said Bill Furtkevic, director of marketing communications for Pep Boys, who had just presented Bartle with $2,000 in Pep Boys gift certificates. "The `rags-to-riches' story of his car is an amazing one, and I'm pleased that our Virtual Car Show was able to highlight his `67 Shelby GT350 in such a unique way."
    According to Bartle, the "Best of Show" car, which was entered in the Ford category, is unrecognizable when compared to the condition it was in when he bought it.
    "It was a rust bucket," said Bartle, who brought the car home in a trailer because that's the only way it would move. "But after a five-year restoration of every part, piece and plug, she turned out pretty nice."
    Bartle completed nearly all of the repairs on the Shelby himself, but left the final "Brittany Blue" paint job with white racing stripes -- the original color -- to the professionals. Always a head-turner at offline car shows, the GT350 jumped out to a sizeable lead when public voting began for this first-ever cyber-competition.
    The Pep Boys Virtual Car Show had 12 categories of competition: American Motors, Chevrolet, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Mopar, Ford/Mercury, Pre-1949 Cars & Trucks, 4x4s & SUVs, 2-Wheel Drive Trucks and Vans, Replica Cars and Trucks, and Imports. Bartle's Shelby won in the Ford category.
    Three other overall winners were named in the contest: Ken Karaczewski, from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Jaime Stamatson from Wichita, Kan., and Jerry Duckett, from Long Island, NY. Karaczewski's "Looney Cruiser" won in the Mopar division; Stamatson's '53 Chevy truck in the 2-Wheel Drive category; and Duckett's "Hot Rod from Hell" in the pre-1949 division.
    The Pep Boys Virtual Car Show began March 5 and moved into the voting stages on May 15. After a team of Pep Boys representatives and the editors of emap-usa publications Motor Trend, Hot Rod, Car Craft, Sport Truck and 4Wheel & Off-Road, selected three finalists in each category, the public was asked to select the 12 category winners. After public voting was complete, Pep Boys and the emap editorial team selected the four overall winners.
    Pep Boys, which is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, operates 629 stores and over 6,500 service bays in 36 states and Puerto Rico. Along with its vehicle repair and maintenance capabilities, the company also serves the commercial auto parts delivery market and is one of the leading sellers of replacement tires in the United States. Customers can find the nearest location by calling 800/PEP-BOYS or by visiting www.pepboys.com.