SKF to Sponsor Dave Blaney, No. 07 Chevy at Martinsville

ELGIN, Ill., April 1 -- SKF will secure the primary sponsor position for NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series driver Dave Blaney and Richard Childress Racing's (RCR) No. 07 Chevrolet in the April 10 Advance Auto Parts 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The SKF colors will be displayed on the racecar's hood, right and left rear quarter panels and on the rear bumper.

Beginning with the 2005 NASCAR season, SKF announced the expansion of its NASCAR NEXTEL Cup involvement, signing a multi-year sponsorship and technical agreement with Richard Childress Racing (RCR). SKF holds associate sponsorship positions on the No. 07 of Dave Blaney, the No. 29 of Kevin Harvick and the No. 31 of Jeff Burton.

"It's extremely exciting to ride with the No. 07 Team as its primary sponsor at Martinsville Speedway," said Per Jacobsson, Director of Marketing Communications, SKF. "We are proud to be a team sponsor and a technical partner with the Richard Childress Racing organization, and we look forward to our continued contributions to the No. 07, No. 29 and No. 31 teams throughout 2005 and beyond."

Together, SKF and RCR engineers research and develop products designed to perform under the harsh conditions of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series in an effort to improve the quality and reliability of every day vehicles and machinery.

"We're excited to have SKF as the primary sponsor of Dave Blaney and the No. 07 at Martinsville," commented Richard Childress, president and CEO of RCR. "SKF came on board with RCR back in January and we've already seen some positive results on the race track as a direct result of our partnership. SKF has dedicated an incredible amount of resources to this program. It's great to be able to have SKF on all three RCR NEXTEL Cup cars every week, but it's even more beneficial for everyone involved to have SKF take its sponsorship to the next level."

SKF's racing involvement stretches around the globe. Since 1947, SKF has joined forces with Formula One's Scuderia Ferrari, creating the longest technical supplier relationship in the sport. The Scuderia Ferrari F1 machines contain over 150 bearings and seals, designed and manufactured exclusively by SKF.

Jack Daniel's, the team's primary sponsor, will be prominently displayed on the car's rear quarter-panels and deck lid in the one-race program highlighting RCR and SKF's technical partnership.

The Advance Auto Parts 500 at Martinsville Speedway will be televised live Sunday, April 10 beginning at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on FOX and broadcast live on MRN and XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the sixth of 36 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series events will air live on Speed Friday, April 8 at 3 p.m. EDT.

SKF is a leading global supplier of bearing and elastomeric products, solutions and related services, as well as linear motion and lubrication technologies. Headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, with technology centers in the Netherlands, Italy and the United States, SKF is a valued partner to original equipment manufacturers and a major supplier to the automotive, aerospace, heavy-duty/off-highway, marine and other industries.