NASCAR BGN: Tommy Baldwin Racing Announces Sponsorship

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

September 8, 2001

RICHMOND, VA (Sept. 7, 2001) – Tommy Baldwin Racing is pleased to announce sponsorship for the upcoming NASCAR Busch Series event at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Saturday, October 6, 2001. The Pillsbury Company will sponsor Ward Burton and the No. 5 Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

The Pillsbury Company has partnered with Burton, who endorses Country Hearth, one of Pillsbury’s many products, for the past couple years. "I know Tommy has aspirations to own his own Busch car," said Burton. "I have had a relationship with Country Hearth and Pillsbury for a few years. They showed an interest in furthering their relationship with me by running a Busch race, so I decided it would be good opportunity to help Tommy get his team started."

Baldwin looks forward to his first Busch race as a team owner.

"We are thrilled with the opportunity to get our first start with this program with help from The Pillsbury Company," said Tommy Baldwin, car owner. "It’s only been seven weeks since the formation of Tommy Baldwin Racing. Eddie (D’Hondt) has been working extremely hard at trying to secure sponsorship for our team. This is the first step in the right direction for Tommy Baldwin Racing. We hope that the relationship with The Pillsbury Company will be successful and will continue in the future."

Although this is just a one-race deal, Tommy Baldwin Racing is hopeful that it will develop into sponsorship opportunities for a full-time driver for the 2002 NASCAR Busch Series season.

Tommy Baldwin Racing announced its formation on July 16, 2001. Baldwin will continue to serve as crew chief of the No. 22 Caterpillar Dodge driven by Ward Burton and owned by Bill Davis Racing. He and D’Hondt serve as co-owners of Tommy Baldwin Racing. D’Hondt, former general manager of both Bill Elliott Racing and Evernham Motorsports, runs the day-to-day team operations.

Baldwin will call the shots at the racetrack, while his NASCAR Winston Cup pit crew will pit the car on Saturday.

Baldwin and Burton are fresh off their first win of the season in last weekend’s NASCAR Winston Cup Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

Minneapolis-based Pillsbury produces a range of grocery items, frozen foods and refrigerated dough products for international consumer markets, including North America, Europe, Latin America and the Far East. The company is also a major supplier of baking and other food products to the foodservice and commercial baking industries. The company's portfolio of leading brands includes Pillsbury, Green Giant, Old El Paso, Häagen-Dazs, Progresso, Hungry Jack and Totino's.

Text provided by Eddie D'Hondt

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