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NASCAR Champions Salute U.S. Armed Services With a Tribute to Freedom

12 March 2000

NASCAR Champions Salute U.S. Armed Services With a Tribute to Freedom in the Millennium; Armed Forces Unite for Special Program with NASCAR Drivers

    ATLANTA--(BW SportsWire)--March 12, 2000--For the first time, all five branches of the Armed Forces came together to target NASCAR fans in support of their recruiting efforts, through a special program with a Tribute to Freedom in the Millennium theme.
    Action Performance Companies Inc. , Jay Howard Events Inc., five NASCAR Winston Cup drivers and their respective sponsors developed the program, which features race cars spectacularly painted with military service branch themes.
    The cars were unveiled today at the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, during a pre-race entertainment extravaganza including a skydiving exhibition by the U.S. Army Silver Wings Parachute Team, musical performances by the Band of the Air Force Reserve and fly-by aircraft demonstrations.
    Gen.(ret.) Colin Powell, Grand Marshal of the race, was among high-ranking military VIPs who gathered at the start/finish line to shake the hands of drivers Mike Skinner, Bobby Hamilton, Ricky Rudd, Dale Jarrett and Jerry Nadeau, as each brought their military-themed cars on-track for the very first time.
    All five Tribute to Freedom in the Millennium cars will make their race debuts on Memorial Day weekend at the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, in Charlotte, N.C.
    Tribute to Freedom in the Millennium drivers, teams, cars and sponsors include:


Service        Driver           Car/Sponsor                Team

Army           Mike Skinner     No. 31 Lowe's Home         Richard
                                Improvement Warehouse      Childress  
                                Chevrolet Monte Carlo      Racing

Navy           Bobby Hamilton   No. 4 KODAK MAX Film       Morgan-
                                Chevrolet Monte Carlo      McClure
                                                           Motorsports

Marines        Ricky Rudd       No. 28 Texaco/Havoline     Robert
                                Ford Taurus                Yates
                                                           Racing

Air Force      Dale Jarrett     No. 88 Ford Quality Care   Robert
                                Service/Ford Credit        Yates
                                Taurus                     Racing

Coast Guard    Jerry Nadeau     No. 25 MichaelHoligan.com  Hendrick
                                Chevrolet Monte Carlo      Motorsports


    "Action Performance is proud to bring such an impressive group of champion drivers, teams and sponsors together to help support recruitment for our nation's Armed Forces," said Fred Wagenhals, Action Performance chairman, president and chief executive officer. "Corporate motorsports sponsorships and special marketing programs work extremely well for building awareness and brand loyalty with consumers.
    "I think NASCAR is a perfect opportunity for the Armed Forces to increase awareness and get recruitment messages out there to large numbers of people whose level of patriotism is as strong as their passion for auto racing. With the cars racing on Memorial Day weekend as a Tribute to Freedom, it's something we can all feel really good about."
    Coordinating the efforts of five drivers and teams, five sponsors and gaining clearance and cooperation from all five military service branches was no easy feat. A key player in bringing the Tribute to Freedom in the Millennium program to fruition is Maj. Gen. Thomas M. Sadler.
    Sadler retired from the Unites Stated Air Force after 37 years of active duty, and is currently the executive director of the Speedway Children's Charities Foundation, the official children's charity of NASCAR.
    "Across all of the Armed Services, recruitment is extremely important for sustaining the numbers of people who are trained to serve and protect our great nation.
    "Action Performance brought the drivers, race teams and corporate sponsors together, and I proudly served as their military liaison," said Sadler. "Through my work with the Speedway Children's Charities Foundation, I have seen motorsports' popularity grow to become the largest spectator sport in the nation, and hundreds of thousands of fans root for their favorite drivers and teams every weekend.
    "This program is a way for NASCAR fans to respectfully pay tribute to military veterans and the men and women on active duty, and to root for the best team of all time -- the United States Military Service Corps."
    In addition to the pre-race unveiling event in Atlanta, coordinated by Jay Howard Events, a second pre-race extravaganza is planned for the Coca-Cola 600. Action Performance will develop a full line of collectible die-cast replicas of the cars, in addition to apparel items and other related merchandise and memorabilia.
    Tribute to Freedom in the Millennium merchandise will be available trackside, online through goracing.com and through Action's established distribution channels. Additionally, products will be sold in military base exchange stores. A portion of the proceeds from the program will be donated to the Speedway Children's Charities Foundation.
    Jay Howard Events, founded in 1987, is regarded as the premier producer of race entertainment in NASCAR. Building on the success of shows at Lowe's Motor Speedway, JHE currently produces pre and post race entertainment for the elite facilities of the sport -- Atlanta, Texas, Las Vegas, Homestead and Daytona.
    JHE also produces NASCAR-themed street festivals in Charlotte (Food Lion Speed Street) and Fort Worth (Chevy Thunder in the Stockyards) as well as pre-game and halftime shows for the NFL Carolina Panthers. JHE also has a long history of coordinating military entertainment activities at sporting events.
    With the December 1998 addition of former U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Captain and current JHE event producer Christian Neary, the JHE team is poised to make sure the Armed Services maximize all of their promotional opportunities.
    Action Performance Companies Inc. is the leader in the design, marketing, promotion and distribution of licensed motorsports merchandise. Its products include a broad range of motorsports-related die-cast car replica collectibles, apparel, souvenirs, and other memorabilia.
    The company markets and distributes products through a variety of channels, including the Racing Collectables Club of America (RCCA), online at goracing.com, trackside at racing events, mass retail department stores, and a worldwide network of wholesale distributors and specialty dealers.

    Note: Authorization was obtained to use military insignia in support of the NASCAR "Armed Forces 2000: Tribute to Freedom in the Millennium" program and related products and events.
    Permission to use these insignia in no way implies endorsement of products, services, events or organizations related to the program by the United States Marine Corps, Department of the Navy, Department of the Army, Department of the Air Force, the Coast Guard, nor any other component of the Department of Defense.