Race To The Polls with Nextel; Voter Registration Program Designed to Encourage Voting Among NASCAR Fans

RESTON, Va.--Aug. 3, 20041, 2004--Nextel Communications Inc. announced the launch of "Race to the Polls," a non-partisan voter registration program designed to encourage Americans to vote in the upcoming November elections. Race to the Polls will build awareness for upcoming elections among NASCAR fans and encourage them to show their pride in their country by supporting the American voting process.

As part of the Race to the Polls program, Nextel began hosting voter registration booths at NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races in late July and will continue through October 10, 2004. Nextel staff is on hand at The Nextel Experience, an at-track interactive fan destination, or Nextel Direct Connect(R) kiosks to hand out, collect and submit federal voter registration forms for race attendees.

"NASCAR fans are known for their patriotism and Race to the Polls is designed to help them act upon that sense of American pride," said Lonnie Taylor, vice president, Federal and State Relations. "Voting is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to have an impact in the election process and Nextel is proud to help in this effort."

Race to the Polls builds upon Nextel's continued involvement in the American political process and its commitment to public service. Nextel was selected as the Official Wireless Service Provider to both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions this summer. Additionally, Nextel and NASCAR have been showing their support for military families by having fans recycle their unused wireless phones at race locations, with proceeds going to the American Red Cross Armed Forces Emergency Services.

Race to the Polls kicked off July 25th at the New England 300 in Loudon, N.H. and includes stops at the following races:

Race                    Location                Date

New England 300         Loudon, N.H.            July 25, 2004
Pennsylvania 500        Long Pond, Pa.          August 1, 2004
Brickyard 400           Indianapolis, Ind.      August 8, 2004
Sirius at the Glen      Watkins Glen, N.Y.      August 15, 2004
Michigan 400            Brooklyn, Mich.         August 22, 2004
Sharpie 500             Bristol, Tenn.          August 28, 2004
Pop Secret 500          Fontana, Calif.         September 5, 2004
Chevy Monte Carlo 400   Richmond, Va.           September 11, 2004
Sylvania 300            Loudon, N.H.            September 19, 2004
MBNA America 400        Dover, Del.             September 26, 2004
EA Sports 500           Talladega, Ala.         October 3, 2004
Banquet 400             Kansas City, Kan.       October 10, 2004

About Nextel Communications

Nextel Communications, a FORTUNE 200 company based in Reston, Va., is a leading provider of fully integrated wireless communications services and has built the largest guaranteed all-digital wireless network in the country covering thousands of communities across the United States. Today 95 percent of FORTUNE 500(R) companies are Nextel customers. Nextel and Nextel Partners, Inc. currently serve 296 of the top 300 U.S. markets where approximately 253 million people live or work.