UPS Rings in Start of NASCAR Season

NEW YORK--Feb. 14, 2002-- To mark the start of the 2002 NASCAR racing season, UPS CEO Mike Eskew and Dale Jarrett, driver of the #88 UPS Ford Taurus, will ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) tomorrow.

With Eskew sounding the bell from the notable balcony on Wall Street, Jarrett will conclude the day's trading live via satellite from the Daytona International Speedway by waving NASCAR's official closing signal - a checkered flag.

The Daytona 500 signals the beginning of the Winston Cup race season and marks the launch of this year's installments of the UPS's humorous ``We want to Race the Truck'' advertising campaign, which will debut this Sunday during the race telecast (NBC 12:00 PM ET).

Like the predecessor spots that had a UPS company representative, fans in a shopping mall and even his father, racing legend Ned Jarrett, encouraging Jarrett to race the ``big, brown truck,'' the new commercial brings a plea from rock singer George Thorogood with a special rendition of his popular song ``Bad to the Bone.'' Thorogood calls on the #88 UPS driver to be ``Brown to the Bone'' behind the wheel of the UPS truck.

The UPS campaign enters its second racing season already with sports marketing and advertising trade honors. During its season-ending Winston Cup banquet in November, NASCAR recognized UPS with its 2001 Marketing Achievement Award, marking the first time a first-year car sponsor has been so honored. Last month, UPS received the Horizon Award for best sport-themed advertising against competitors that included sports apparel and equipment, network commercial promotions and fast food and beverage spots. The national Horizon awards, presented by the Atlanta Sports Council, focus attention on the business side of sports, acknowledging leagues, players, the media and sponsor companies for bottom-line success in leveraging sports involvement.

UPS has been the official express delivery company of NASCAR since 2000 and enters its second year as primary sponsor of the #88 UPS Ford Taurus driven by Dale Jarrett for Robert Yates Racing. Building on the sport's growing popularity and fan loyalty, UPS has been recognized for a strong marketing platform that links its services to the speed, precision and reliability of NASCAR racing. UPS continues to build new business opportunity directly within the racing community, related automotive and supplier industries and with new revenues through licensed product merchandising. Visit www.racing.ups.com for more information about UPS Racing and #88 team performance and features.