CART: Prize winners announced in CART fan appreciation weekend
1 November 1999
Posted By Terry
Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
FONTANA, Calif. - Ken Bloom of Forston,
Ga. will receive a Toyota Tundra truck as winner of the grand prize in the
CART Fan Appreciation promotion held in conjunction with this weekend's
season-ending Marlboro 500 Presented by Toyota at California Speedway.
The Toyota Tundra, which comes equipped with a top-of-the-line Pioneer car audio system, is one of more than 850 prizes which are being presented in the promotion, a cooperative effort between CART, California Speedway, FedEx, Kmart, Firestone, Pioneer Electronics, Penske Auto Centers and Southern California Toyota dealers. The national promotion, which began in mid-September, drew over 50,000 entries from nearly every state in the union.
"Obviously, we're very pleased with the number of entries which we drew for this national promotion," said Andy Guest, CART director of marketing. "We'd like to congratulate all the winners and thank them for their participation. This was truly a cooperative effort between CART, California Speedway and our sponsors, all of whom felt it was important to give something back to the fans."
"This promotion took place in over 10,000 locations across the country and had broad national appeal," said Scott Atherton, president and general manager of California Speedway. "We're proud to be hosting the event where the grand prize is being announced."
"We're pleased to be able to showcase our appreciation for fan support of the CART FedEx Championship Series by contributing the grand prize," said Les Unger, national motorsports manager for Toyota.
"I couldn't believe it," said Bloom after being notified that he had won the Toyota Tundra. "I never win anything. I received the notice that I had won from FedEx and I immediately ran out to a Toyota dealer to see a Tundra. This is great."
The first prize, trips for two, courtesy of Firestone, to each of the four continents where the FedEx Championship Series races (North America, South America, Asia and Australia), was won by Howard Tracy of Pensacola, Fla.
"I'm almost speechless," said Tracy. "I was at a Firestone dealer getting a tire replaced, so I decided to enter. I'm a huge race fan and I saw the box promoting the race, so I entered the contest. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. It's great."
More than 850 of the 50,000 entries will win prizes. Other prizes included a Pioneer Home Theater system valued at $15,000; 500 Kmart $50 cash cards; 100 full-year supplies of Penske Auto Center Crew Chief oil changes, as well as 150 gift certificates for automotive service valued at $100; 10 Pioneer Simple Solution home theatre speaker packages; 10 sets of Firestone Firehawk tires and 100 Firestone racing jackets.
All contest entries were delivered from participating retailers to the clearinghouse by FedEx, title sponsor of the FedEx Championship Series. Fans can log on to www.cart.com after Nov. 8 to check the complete list of winners.
In addition to the prizes offered nationally, fans attending today's Marlboro 500 Presented by Toyota at California Speedway will also have the opportunity to win prizes in a separate sweepstakes event going on throughout the weekend.
Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot racing photos and art, visit The Racing Photo Museum and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.