Enterprise Rent-A-Car Takes Martin Truex Jr. to His First NASCAR Nextel Cup Start

MOORESVILLE, N.C., Sept. 9 -- Dale Earnhardt Incorporated and Enterprise Rent-A-Car have joined forces to enter Martin Truex Jr. in the Sylvania 300 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race at New Hampshire International Speedway on Sunday, September 19.

Truex Jr. will be making his first start in NASCAR's premier series driving the No. 1 Enterprise Rent-A-Car Chevrolet. Truex Jr. is currently competing in his first full season in the NASCAR Busch Series, and with nine races remaining, holds the lead in the points.

"It's still sinking in that I'm running my first Cup race," said Truex Jr. "Enterprise Rent-A-Car and DEI have made strong efforts to give me this opportunity. Everyone at DEI rents cars from Enterprise on the weekends we race, so I'm looking forward to representing them on the track in New Hampshire."

Enterprise Rent-A-Car is also making its debut as a primary sponsor in NASCAR Nextel Cup racing. Using DEI driver Dale Jr. in promotional and television advertising since 2002, the nations #1 rent-a-car company has experienced tremendous success with its DEI partnership. Enterprise Rent-A-Car operates more than 600,000 Rental and Fleet Services vehicles worldwide. Last year, the #1 Rent-A-Car agency opened more than 300 new locations, increasing its total locations to more than 5,500.

"We saw this as an opportunity to strengthen our great relationship with DEI and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.," said Pete Wyatt, director of sponsorship marketing for Enterprise Rent-A-Car. "NASCAR fans are extremely supportive of our relationship with DEI and wanted to support them. In addition, we think it is fitting that the number one rental car company is sponsoring DEI's number one car and Truex Jr.'s 1st cup start."

Truex Jr. already has NASCAR NEXTEL Cup experience at New Hampshire International Speedway. He was chosen to fill the seat for teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. this past July, when injuries kept Earnhardt Jr. from finishing the entire event. Truex Jr. handled most of the driving duties that weekend, practicing, qualifying and climbing in the DEI Chevrolet on lap 61 to complete the 300 lap race.

Martin Truex Jr. has compiled four NASCAR Busch Series victories, six pole awards, 12 top-5 and 18 top-10 finishes in the 2004 NASCAR Busch Series season.

Dale Earnhardt Inc. is headquartered in Mooresville, NC and is one of the premier racing organizations in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series. Currently DEI operates two NASCAR Nextel Cup race teams with drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip, as well as a NASCAR Busch Series team with driver Paul Menard. DEI also is co-owner of Chance 2 with driver Martin Truex Jr. For further information on DEI and its teams go to http://www.daleearnhardtinc.com/ , or contact: John "JR" Rhodes 704-662-8000 ext 3576. jrrhodes@dei-zone.com

About Enterprise Rent-A-Car

With a fleet of more than 700,000 vehicles, 6,000 locations and 57,000 employees, Enterprise is the largest car rental company in North America and is currently number 16 on the Forbes "500 Largest Private Companies in America" list. For more information about Enterprise visit http://www.enterprise.com or contact: Lee Broughton, Enterprise Rent-A- Car 314-512-3185, lee.broughton@erac.com .