Dale Earnhardt, Jr. takes up "speed" dating

TACO SALAD-LOVERS, EAT YOUR HEART OUT TO WIN A "SPEED DATE" WITH DALE EARNHARDT, JR.

Taco Bell Launches Newly Improved Fiesta Taco Salad with Sweepstakes

Irvine, Calif., - Ladies, start your engines. Beginning today, Taco Bell is giving its customers another reason to try its newly improved Fiesta Taco Salad - a chance to win a speed date with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. The "Win a Speed Date with Dale" Sweepstakes invites female customers to test-drive the new Fiesta Taco Salad for a shot at sharing lunch with one of the racing world's speediest stars and most eligible bachelors. 

"When I'm racing, I have to be focused on my car, the competition and the track, and don't always have enough time to meet with all my fans," said Dale Earnhardt, Jr. "This speed date is a great opportunity to spend some one-on-one time with them and fill up on my favorite Taco Bell® food. Thankfully, I don't eat as fast as I drive."

Female fans may enter the "Win A Speed Date with Dale" Sweepstakes by purchasing the new Fiesta Taco Salad at Taco Bell restaurants nationwide and holding onto their receipt. After purchase, customers must visit www.tacobell.com to enter their receipt order number, name, address, and daytime and evening telephone numbers in the online entry form no later than 11:59 p.m. PST on April 10, 2004. On April 15, Taco Bell will randomly draw four winners from all eligible entrants and offer them the Grand Prize, featuring an 8-minute speed date with Dale, travel for two to Talladega, Alabama on April 21, and a four-night stay. While males are not eligible to enter, they may attend the speed date as the "third wheel," or guest of a winner.

The "Win A Speed Date with Dale" Sweepstakes kicks off the re-introduction of the Fiesta Taco Salad. First introduced as the Taco Salad in 1984, the Fiesta Taco Salad upgrades the classic salad's shredded lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, seasoned beef and cheddar cheese with new crunchy lime-seasoned tortilla strips and tangy, chunky salsa, all in a crunchy tortilla shell. It's now available as a permanent menu item at participating Taco Bell® restaurants for $3.79 (price may vary by location). 

"Since nearly two-thirds of women order salad on a first date*, we've created the speed date sweepstakes to deliver what they want most - our new Fiesta Taco Salad AND a date with Dale," said Greg Creed, chief marketing officer, Taco Bell Corp. "This program is just another example of how we encourage our customers to 'Think Outside the Bun'." 

Two 30-second commercials for Fiesta Taco Salad, produced by Foote, Cone & Belding, San Francisco, will air nationwide through April 18. The first television spot, "Private Eye" features a suspicious wife reviewing photos from a private detective that prove her husband is eating the "Fiesta Taco Salad" on the sly. The second spot titled "Two-Timer" opens with the same woman telling her friend about her husband's suspicious behavior and later shows the woman catching her husband eating a Fiesta Taco Salad in his office. 

The concept of speed dating originated in Los Angeles in the 1990s and is designed to introduce a large group of singles in hopes there is a match. The "speed dates" typically last between six and eight minutes. This Sweepstakes mark the first speed date for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 

There is no purchase necessary to enter. To enter without making a purchase, hand print your name, address, daytime and evening telephone numbers on 3"x 5" piece of paper and mail it to Taco Bell® "Win A Speed Date with Dale" Sweepstakes, Taco Bell Corp., 17901 Von Karman, Irvine, CA, 92614, ATTN: Public Relations. Mail-in entries must be postmarked by April 10 and received by April 15, 2004. Entrants must be female, 18 or older who are legal U.S. resident (excluding residents of Florida). Void in Florida and where otherwise prohibited by law. Limit one entry per person or e-mail address, regardless of method of entry. For Official Rules, sweepstakes information, please visit www.tacobell.com. 

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

*The Fiesta Taco Salad Survey was fielded by Taco Bell Corp. in March 2004; More than 500 American women from across the nation participated in this telephone survey.