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NASCAR WCUP: Nine fans experience 150-mph Rides around Atlanta Motor Speedway With NASCAR'S Top Drivers

20 November 1999

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

NASCAR Drivers Jarrett, Earnhardt, Labonte, Elliott, Petty, Rudd, Irwin, Burton and Stewart Kick Off The Coca-Cola Racing Family Reunion By Giving Fans the Thrill of a Lifetime

ATLANTA-- Nine lucky NASCAR fans experienced heart-pounding rides in real stock cars, with NASCAR's top drivers behind the wheel, as part of the grand-prize package of The Coca-Cola Racing Family Reunion promotion. With family and friends looking on, each winner teamed with a member of The Coca-Cola Racing Family for a 150-mph ride around the lightning-fast 1.54-mile track at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

"This is the greatest experience that anyone could have ever dreamed of," said Sherri Crow of Festus, Mo., who won the chance to ride with Jeff Burton when she discovered her winning Coca-Cola classic bottle cap during her anniversary celebration with her husband. "Getting to ride in a Winston Cup car was an unbelievable experience...awesome, but a little scary, especially when you see how close the drivers get to the walls," continued Crow.

"I had just as much fun out there today as the winning fans did," said Dale Jarrett, 1999 Winston Cup Series Champion. "With this promotion, Coca-Cola was able to let these winners experience the thrill we NASCAR drivers get every time we're behind the wheel."

In addition to Crow, other grand-prize winners and their Coca-Cola Racing Family drivers included Pamela Bozant, 39, of Hayward, Calif., riding with Kyle Petty; Mary Williams, 49, of Hearne, Texas, riding with Dale Earnhardt; Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Masiello, 40, of Niceville, Fla., an Air Force pilot, riding with Bobby Labonte; Kristy Barker, 22, of Greensboro, N.C., riding with Tony Stewart; Luther May, 41 of Paris, Tenn., riding with Ricky Rudd; Mary La Valley, 48, of Grant, Neb., riding with Bill Elliott; Dane Oglesby, 52, of Pleasant View, Tenn., riding with Kenny Irwin; and Alvia Ball, 68, of Rio Linda, Calif., who let her son, Joe, ride with the 1999 Winston Cup Champion Dale Jarrett.

"I fly F-16s and even at 500 mph, you don't get the sensation that you get going so close to the wall on the track," said Masiello following his ride with Labonte.

And according to Williams, who was bubbling with excitement when she exited Earnhardt's racecar, "It was exhilarating. In my wildest dreams, I never pictured myself in a stock car going that fast."

Earnhardt complimented Williams following the ride. "Mary was a great passenger, not a 'back-seat driver.' She gave me the thumbs up and told me to go for it," said Earnhardt.

In addition to receiving four "hot" laps in a Winston Cup stock car, each grand-prize winner was invited to a Friday evening dinner celebration with The Coca-Cola Racing Family drivers and their families. The prize package also included a 5-day, 4-night trip for each winner and seven family members or friends to Atlanta, 3-day admission tickets for the entire family to the season's last races and $2,000 spending money.

Official Coca-Cola Racing Family Reunion instant-win game pieces were found under the caps of specially marked bottles and inside specially marked multi-packs of Coca-Cola classic and caffeine-free Coca-Cola classic.

The Coca-Cola Racing Family includes Winston Cup Series drivers Earnhardt, Labonte, Elliott, Jarrett, Burton, Petty, Rudd, Irwin, Park and Stewart, as well as Busch Grand National Champion Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Jason Jarrett and Adam Petty, who are considered racing's top prospects among the sport's next generation of drivers.

Coca-Cola classic is the official soft drink of NASCAR racing.

Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot racing photos and art, visit The Racing Photo Museum and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.