NASCAR Driver Bill Lester and Toyota to Celebrate Diversity in Auto Racing at National Urban League Conference

LOS ANGELES--July 16, 2004--Bill Lester, driver of the No. 22 Toyota in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and one of today's most successful drivers of color, will be a special guest at the Toyota Exhibit during the National Urban League (NUL) Conference, July 21-25, 2004. The five-day gathering will take place at the COBO Center in Detroit, Michigan under the theme, Empowerment: Building On The Civil Rights Movement.

Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), USA partnership with the National Urban League spans over a decade. TMS involvement this year includes co-sponsorship of the NUL Benefit Concert featuring Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and the Conference Dinner Gala Finale. In 1993, Toyota expanded its commitment to the Urban League by establishing the Los Angeles Urban League Automotive Training Center. Through this major partnership, the Center has successfully trained over 1,300 unemployed and underemployed men and women at no cost to students and maintains a 75 percent job placement rate.

In addition to sponsoring this year's conference, Toyota will feature NASCAR driver Bill Lester at its Exhibit on Thursday, July 22nd from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and on Friday, July 23rd from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Lester will be available to meet and greet NUL attendees. "I am pleased to be part of such an important conference," said Lester. "I believe in supporting dreams and giving back, which is why I admire Toyota's long-standing track record of building relationships and embracing diversity. I'm proud to be associated with them."

The Washington, D.C. native made his professional auto-racing debut in the International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) GTO race on September 10, 1989 at Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma, California. Lester graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in electrical engineering/computer science and is a former award-winning research and development project manager for Hewlett-Packard Co. Lester made history in 2003 as the featured racer on the 14-ounce box of Honey Nut Cheerios, the first African American and first driver from the NASCAR Truck Series to receive an endorsement deal on a cereal box.

Lester is currently 22nd in this year's NCTS championship standings and in 2003 won his first career "pole position" at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte and recorded a first career top-10 finish at Kansas Speedway.

About the National Urban League

The National Urban League is the nation's oldest and largest community-based movement empowering African Americans to enter the economic and social mainstream. The National Urban League, headquartered in New York City, spearheads the nonprofit, nonpartisan movement, while Urban League affiliates operate in more than 100 cities in 34 states and the District of Columbia.

About Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

In 2003 Toyota USA donated $31 million to U.S. philanthropic programs with an emphasis on education. From family literacy to higher and technical education, and environmental programs, Toyota continues to form partnerships with organizations such as the National Urban League, to make a difference in communities nationwide.

Headquartered in Torrance, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., is the sales, marketing, distribution and customer service arm of Toyota, Lexus and Scion in the United States. The company's main Website is http://www.toyota.com.