ThatsRacin.com Gives Fans Real 'Inside Line Experience'

New for the 2005 NASCAR Season: Fan-Focused Blogs, Fantasy Racing Games & Advice, Unfiltered Industry News - and More Great Original Insider Coverage and Commentary

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 15 -- As NASCAR insiders, media and spectators gather in Daytona to start the new NASCAR season, ThatsRacin.com will be giving fans who can't be there the inside line on the kickoff weekend and the entire 2005 season. New bloggers, content services and fantasy games have been added to the site's already-respected coverage and commentary

-- making it the top independent online hangout in 2005 for real motorsports fans.

"NASCAR fans have to experience the sport mainly through officially licensed media channels," says Dick van Halsema, ThatsRacin.com's general manager. "Yet we believe fans are hungry for more and different ways to really get inside the sport they love. So we worked hard in the off-season to build a new 'inside-line experience' for fans who just can't get enough of racing."

New features at ThatsRacin.com for 2005 include:

INSIDE LINE blogging team: ThatsRacin.com is home of the first motorsports blogging team. Long-time racing editor Bob Henry blogs from his "Checkered Past;" fans can pull into "Kathy's Pitstop" for NASCAR-Mom commentary; Trent Cherry, crew member for Nextel Cup driver Ryan Newman, takes fans "Over the Wall;" and Mayor Jimmy's "Rantville" pushes the limits of commentary etiquette on just about any topic related to racing.

FANTSY RACING CHALLENGE: Once again this season, fans can pick their drivers and win weekly prizes throughout the season from the Richard Petty Driving Experience. For 2005, ThatsRacin.com also has expanded its fantasy-racing content and commentary and customized Q&As from game experts -- all to help fans run their own teams.

FAN PUBLISHING WIZARD: Do you run a website or blog? Publish our news on your site for free. The Easy Syndication Wizard puts ThatsRacin.com headlines on your web pages, feeding you always-updated ThatsRacin.com Nextel Cup, Busch Series, and Truck Series coverage.

MEDIA CENTER: Information-hungry fans can now find motorsports press releases and marketing communications on ThatsRacin.com -- exactly as sent out by teams, agencies and sponsors. The new Media Center puts more information directly into the hands of the fans, and is a perfect supplement to ThatsRacin.com's solid core of original independent journalism.

MORE: ThatsRacin.com's popular "Garage Pass" newsletters now will give fans Monday results, Wednesday fan features, and Friday pre-race briefings; there is more statistical / odds data than ever; and the site has expanded its partnerships with companies like Athlon Sports.

ThatsRacin.com is produced by Knight Ridder Digital and the NASCAR experts at the The Charlotte Observer. A leader in local news, information and marketplace services on the Web, Knight Ridder Digital develops and manages the Internet properties of Knight Ridder , the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher. Knight Ridder Digital is the founder and operator of Real Cities, the largest national advertising network of local Web sites. For more on Knight Ridder Digital visit (www.kri.com/digital) or for more on Real Cities visit (www.realcities.com).