Advance Auto Parts Files Registration Statement for Offering of Common Stock

ROANOKE, Va., Feb. 6 Advance Auto Parts, Inc. announced today that it has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a public offering of 9,000,000 shares of common stock. The offering consists of 2,250,000 primary shares to be sold by the Company and 6,750,000 secondary shares to be sold by three of its stockholders pro rata based on their current equity ownership. The underwriters will have an option to purchase a maximum of 1,350,000 additional shares from one of the selling stockholders to cover any over-allotment of shares.

The Company will use net proceeds it receives from the offering to pay down debt. Upon the completion of the offering, the Company anticipates having approximately 34.9 million shares outstanding.

The selling shareholders are Sears, Roebuck and Co., Freeman Spogli & Co. and Ripplewood Partners, L.P. Freeman Spogli, a private equity investment firm, acquired a controlling interest in Advance as part of the Company's recapitalization in April 1998. As part of that transaction, Ripplewood purchased its investment in Advance. Sears received its shares as part of the consideration for the sale of its Western Auto Supply subsidiary to Advance in November 1998. After the proposed offering, assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised, the selling shareholders will beneficially own a total of approximately 18.6 million shares of the Company's common stock, or 52.7% of the total outstanding shares.

The offering is being co-lead-managed by Credit Suisse First Boston Corporation and Merrill Lynch Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated. Co-managers of the offering are J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., Lehman Brothers Inc., Morgan Stanley & Co., Incorporated and Salomon Smith Barney Inc.

To obtain a prospectus describing the common shares and the public offering, please contact Credit Suisse First Boston Corporation, 11 Madison Avenue, Prospectus Department, New York, New York 10010, (212) 325-2580 or Merrill Lynch & Co., 4 World Financial Center, Prospectus Department, Street Level, New York, New York 10080, (212) 449-1000.