First Race - First Place! Taco Bell and Driver Martin Truex, Jr. Earn First Busch Series Victory Together

IRVINE, Calif.--March 30, 2004--NASCAR fans tuned in on Saturday to see Busch Series driver Martin Truex, Jr. dominate the competition at Bristol Motor Speedway en route to Victory Lane. And sponsor Taco Bell(R) was on board as he led the way. It was Truex, Jr.'s second race at the action-packed half-mile oval and the Chance 2 Motorsports team debuted the new Taco Bell No. 8 race car.

"I'm excited that I could share my first Busch win with a great sponsor like Taco Bell," said Martin Truex, Jr. about Saturday's race. "We're hungry for more victories and hope to go all the way to the championship."

Truex, Jr. is in his first NASCAR Busch Series season and the Bristol event was only his 20th race. The victory gave Taco Bell and Chance 2 Motorsports, co-owned by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Teresa Earnhardt, their first Busch victory by a driver other than Earnhardt, Jr.

"Martin is an outstanding driver who has proven he can 'Think Outside the Bun' in order to get inside the Winner's Circle," said Greg Creed, chief marketing officer, Taco Bell Corp. "We promised Taco Bell customers an exciting racing season, and we're off to a great start."

This marked the company's first-ever sponsorship of the Chance 2 team. Taco Bell joined KFC and Long John Silver's earlier this year to sponsor Chance 2 Motorsports and its drivers Earnhardt, Jr. and Truex, Jr. in the Busch Series.

Both drivers will share behind-the-wheel duties for the Taco Bell-themed Chevrolet Monte Carlos during six races. Truex, Jr. will drive the No. 8 Taco Bell car while Earnhardt, Jr. will race No. 81.

The No. 8 car sports a paint scheme using mainly the signature Taco Bell purple color. The clean design includes the bold "Bell" icon on the hood and the company slogan "Think Outside the Bun" represented on various panels of the car. Chance 2 crew and drivers are outfitted in firesuits with the same colors and theme. Earnhardt, Jr.'s No. 81 car will have a different paint scheme that will be revealed in Talladega, Ala.

The Taco Bell/Chance 2 partnership includes national online promotions, on-site presence and much more. For more information on how the company plans to leverage its association with Chance 2 both on and off the track, visit www.tacobell.com.

During the 2004 Busch Series, the Taco Bell(R) car will drive in the remaining Busch races at:

-- Fort Worth, Texas - 4/3 (Truex)

-- Nashville, Tenn. - 4/10 (Truex)

-- Talladega, Ala. - 4/24 (Earnhardt)

-- Los Angeles, Calif. - 5/1 (Truex)

-- St. Louis, Mo. - 5/8 (Truex)

While Martin Truex, Jr. is a relative newcomer to the NASCAR Busch Series, he ended the 2003 Busch Series season with back-to-back second-place finishes and is another of the young drivers taking NASCAR by storm. In 2004, Truex, Jr. was tabbed to run his first full season in the Busch Series under the Chance 2 umbrella, and he is currently third in Busch Series points.

Taco Bell Corp., based in Irvine, is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands Inc. and the nation's leading Mexican-style quick service restaurant chain serving tacos, burritos, signature Quesadillas, Border Bowls(R), nachos and other specialty items. Taco Bell(R) serves more than 35 million consumers each week in more than 6,000 restaurants in the United States. Think Outside the Bun and visit www.tacobell.com.