FRANCHITTI, CANADIAN CLUB RETURN WITH AGR FOR 2007 SEASON
If the following text-only file is not easily readable, particularly any tables of numbers, try enlarging this window since every line has a forced end and there is no word-wrap. Otherwise, this report will look and print better from the following PDF file: http://www.sportssystems.com/applib/PDFload.cfm?file=/email/filehost/EK384.pdf&id=BC384EK9EC574 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For Immediate Release FRANCHITTI, CANADIAN CLUB® RETURN WITH ANDRETTI GREEN RACING FOR 2007 SEASON INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (Jan. 3, 2007) - Andretti Green Racing, the winningest team in Indy Racing League history, has announced that Dario Franchitti will return for the 2007 season. Franchitti will return to the IndyCar Series with major sponsor Canadian Club® Canadian whisky in the #27 entry. Canadian Club, in its second season of partnership with AGR, will also be an associate sponsor on AGR's IndyCar Series entries driven by Tony Kanaan and Danica Patrick. Franchitti will be one of the team's four full-time drivers in the IndyCar Series. He will also team with Bryan Herta and his brother, Marino Franchitti, in the XM Satellite Radio-sponsored Acura-powered Courage as AGR ventures into the American Le Mans Series LMP2 class in 2007. Franchitti, who owns four IndyCar Series victories and three poles, is the winningest British driver in American open-wheel history. He has 14 victories and 14 pole positions in his open- wheel career. This will be Franchitti's 10th season involved with the Andretti Green family. He spent five seasons with Team Green before joining Andretti Green Racing in 2003. This will be the second season for Canadian Club's involvement in the IndyCar Series after the brand joined AGR at the 2006 Indianapolis 500 and for the remaining races of the 2006 schedule. A member of the Beam Global Spirits & Wine family, Canadian Club is one of the largest and most prominent Canadian whisky brands in the world. The brand features Canadian Club 6-year old, Canadian Club Reserve, Canadian Club Sherry Cask and Canadian Club Classic® 12. The season-opening race on the IndyCar Series schedule is Saturday, March 24, from Homestead-Miami Speedway. Franchitti can also expect to see some time in the #26 XM Satellite Radio ALMS car at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, the first event on the 2007 ALMS schedule. Canadian Club will also be an associate sponsor of the #26 XM Satellite Radio ALMS car. About Beam Global Spirits & Wine Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc. is the fourth largest spirits company in the world. With nine of the world's top-100 premium spirits in its portfolio, the company's brands hold global and national leadership positions in key categories, including Jim Beam® bourbon; Canadian Club® Canadian whisky; Courvoisier® cognac; Laphroaig® Scotch; Sauza® tequila; Larios® gin; Whisky DYC®; Teacher's® Scotch; and DeKuyper® cordials. The portfolio also includes Maker's Mark® bourbon, Knob Creek® bourbon and The Small Batch Bourbon Collection®, and Starbucks™ Liqueurs. Beam Wine Estates is a top-five super-premium wine company in the U.S., featuring Clos du Bois®, the number two super-premium U.S. wine brand, and the award-winning Geyser Peak® wines. Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc. is part of Fortune Brands, Inc. , a $8 billion leading consumer brands company. For more information on Beam Global Spirits & Wine and the company's sales and distribution partners, please visit www.beamglobal.com. Canadian Club® Blended Canadian Whisky, 40% alc./vol. ©2007 Canadian Club Import Company, Deerfield, IL . All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. - more - Dario Franchitti, #27 Canadian Club Dallara/Honda/Firestone "I haven't been this excited to get back into a race car in quite a long time. We had some very good race cars last season and I expect to be contending for race wins when we return to the track in March. On the ALMS front, to be able to drive with Acura power will certainly give us plenty of great opportunities on tracks where I've been successful in the past. I've driven with Marino before and we're both excited about being together in a world-class car. I'm thrilled to be able to continue driving with Bryan (Herta). I've really enjoyed being his teammate the last several years and I'm sure we'll be successful." Michael Andretti, Chairman, Andretti Green Racing "Dario has proven over and over that he is one of the very best drivers in the world and we're happy he's going to return to the IndyCar Series and jump into the ALMS car in 2007. He is a fantastic leader and, along with Tony Kanaan, will continue to provide a lot in the development areas AGR is working on. It's very important to us that Canadian Club has returned for the 2007 season. We've had a long relationship with Beam Global Spirits & Wine and we appreciate their support and activation. I'm encouraged with the changes we've made in the off-season and it should produce better results for us on the track." Dennis Prado, Senior Director, Canadian Club "We are very excited about the continuation of our partnership with AGR and Dario for the 2007 season. The Canadian Club racing program was very successful in 2006 and we are looking forward to making it more effective for the brand in 2007. The IndyCar Series aligns well the core Canadian Club brand attributes and it appeals to our target consumers. The IndyCar Series also provides a highly visible platform for our drink smart © social responsibility program. AGR has been an excellent partner for our company and Dario has been a terrific spokesperson for the Canadian Club brand. We're trilled to have such a highly acclaimed driver representing our award winning whisky. We are looking forward to very successful season in 2007 both on and off the track." - AGR - Contact: Rob Cleveland, (317) 872-2700 ext 264, rob.cleveland@andrettigreenracing.com Al Larsen, (317) 872-2700 ext. 239, alan.larsen@andrettigreenracing.com