Goodyear Awards Atlanta-Area High School Senior $30,000 Scholarship

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ATLANTA, October 25, 2008: The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, the exclusive tire supplier of NASCAR's three largest series, today announced the names of the six students who have won scholarships as part of the Goodyear Racing and Diversity Program.

During the pre-race ceremony at the Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend, Goodyear presented grand prize scholarship winner Alex Stephens, an Atlanta-area high school senior, with a check for $30,000 toward his continuing education. The five other students announced today will each receive a $2,000 scholarship, and are: Adriana Harris, Dover, Del.; Ashli Moore, Dallas, Texas; Desiree Slaughter, Detroit, Mich.; Rodrigo Bernal, Daytona Beach, Fla.; and Stephanie Vasquez, Los Angeles, Calif. The Goodyear Racing and Diversity Program provides minority high school students with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the many career paths offered through the sport of NASCAR.

"Goodyear is proud to provide all of our award winners with scholarship money to use toward their continuing education," said Kris Kienzl, NASCAR Marketing Manager at Goodyear. "It was difficult to select just one student to receive our grand award as each of our candidates truly exemplifies the talent and desire required to succeed in their fields of interest."

Alex, a senior at Sonoraville High School in Calhoun, Ga. was selected from more than 60 minority high school students who participated in the Goodyear program of at-track experiences and race weekend internships in six NASCAR race venues over the past year.

During Alex's time at Sonoraville High School he has excelled as a leader in and out of the classroom. In addition to his strong academics, Alex is an integral member of SkillsUSA, a national nonprofit organization serving teachers and high school and college students who are preparing for careers in trade, technical and skilled service occupations. During his weekend internship in March, Alex experienced what a career involving engineering, competition/series operations and diversity would entail.

"Because Alex has displayed such passion and determination toward achieving his career goal of working in the motorsports industry, we are especially pleased to provide financial support to help him achieve that dream. At Goodyear, we are proud to say that our tires help NASCAR drivers and fans 'Get there' ... we're honored to now be able to say the same about Alex," added Kienzl.

In its first year, the Goodyear Racing and Diversity program provided high school students from across the country the chance to experience NASCAR first-hand and receive a behind-the-scenes look at a NASCAR race. Students that participated in these events had to maintain a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA and be in good standing in their school and local community to become eligible for race-weekend internships. Once selected, students were paired with several 'mentors' in career areas of interest to them for two, six-hour days of work. Students who completed their race-weekend internships were then eligible to apply for the scholarships.

Goodyear has worked to bring innovation to its racing products, which, in turn, has helped foster heightened competition on the track. Since it first began supplying tires to NASCAR more than 50 years ago, Goodyear tires have logged over 1,450 Sprint Cup Series victories, and the number continues to rise. Goodyear consumer tires are inspired by the innovations and cutting-edge technology from the race track.