San Juan, Argentina (January 13, 2010) – In Stage 11 of the Dakar Rally, competitors from Team HUMMER left Chile to begin their trek across Argentina back the finish line in Buenos Aires for the scheduled conclusion of the race on Saturday. The journey from Santiago to San Juan included dramatic changes in altitude as competitors travelled a total of 434 km and completed a 220 km timed special. The course allowed drivers to admire views of the famous Aconcagua, which is the highest mountain peak in the Americas. The day began with a trip through the Paso Libertadores, which is a mountain pass in the Andes Mountains that allowed competitors to cross into Argentina. The first fifty kilometers was the only portion of the rally completed at high altitude, but required mechanics to incorporate a setup that would compensate for a lack of power. Additionally, drivers had a make a conscious effort to take care of their brakes today to ensure they would last the entire descent of nearly 20 kilometers.

Robby Gordon in his Monster Energy / Toyo Tires HUMMER finished seventh despite an inflation line problem that resulted in a tire change midway through the special. Without the issue, Gordon felt confident that he and navigator, Andy Grider could have taken another stage victory in the 2010 Dakar Rally; however, he finished five minutes behind Guerlain Chicherit. He remains 10th overall behind overall leader, Carlos Saniz.

The Vanguard HUMMER would finish 14th due to a brake line issue at the last leg of the stage. The duo hope to have better results during the last days of the 2010 Dakar Rally.

Race Coverage – For fans tracking the Dakar Rally at home, please visit robbygordon.com, planetrobby.com, and Robby Gordon’s twitter page for daily updates on the team’s performance including a daily recap, photos and videos. Versus will provide coverage throughout the United States. A 30-minute daily program featuring highlights from that day’s racing will be aired on Versus daily at 3:30 p.m. with a replay airing later in the day. The show is set to air daily from January 3rd through January 18th, check your local listing for exact show times. A 60-minute recap show featuring all fourteen stages will air on Versus on Sunday, January 24th at 3:00 p.m.

Concord, N.C. (January 13, 2010) – Jack Roush will be one of four honorees to be inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame this Saturday night in Concord, North Carolina.  Roger Penske, Rusty Wallace and Robert Yates will also be welcomed into the NMPA Hall of Fame this weekend.

“Jack Roush’s induction to the NMPA Hall of Fame is a well deserved honor for a man who has impacted not only NASCAR but racing with his innovations and ingenuity throughout his career,” remarked Dustin Long, President, National Motorsports Press Association.

The National Motorsports Press Association is an organization that features about 350 journalists, public relations officials, track personnel and series officials.  Until NASCAR’s Hall of Fame, this has been the only Hall of Fame dedicated to those with ties to stock-car racing including drivers, crew chiefs, owners, journalists and track officials. The NMPA Hall of Fame features 86 individuals, including this year’s class of four.  Among those in the Hall, which inducted its first member in 1965, are Bill France Sr., Bill France Jr., Dale Earnhardt, Ralph Earnhardt, David Pearson, Richie Evans, John Holman, Harry Hyde, Junior Johnson, Ralph Moody, Bud Moore, Benny Parsons, Richard Petty, Lee Petty, Tim Richmond, Fireball Roberts, Wendell Scott, Curtis Turner, Glen Wood, Leonard Wood, Cale Yarborough and Smokey Yunick, among others.

“It will truly be an honor to be welcomed to the list of NMPA Hall of Fame inductees,” said Roush.  “The role of the media who cover NASCAR has certainly evolved over the years but I think we would all agree that now more than ever the job of informing the world about our great sport is of tremendous importance.  I know the members of the NMPA are among those who care the most about both the history and the future of our sport so I consider this induction into their Hall of Fame a most cherished honor.”

BB&T and RCR Renew Partnership Agreement

WELCOME, N.C. (January 14, 2010) — Richard Childress Racing has extended its partnership agreement with BB&T Corporation (NYSE: BBT) for the full-service financial institution to continue as a primary sponsor for eight races and the all-star race and a major associate sponsor of Clint Bowyer’s No. 33 Chevrolet Impala for the remaining 28 races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

The Winston-Salem, N.C.-based corporation will also retain its status as the Official Bank of Richard Childress Racing.

The primary sponsorship races for BB&T on the No. 33 Chevrolet occur within BB&T’s primary branch banking footprint, which extended into Alabama while simultaneously increasing its market share in Florida last August. The No. 33 BB&T Chevrolet will compete March 7 and September 5 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, March 21 at Bristol Motor Speedway, March 28 and October 24 at Martinsville Speedway, April 25 and October 31 at Talladega Superspeedway, May 1 at Richmond International Raceway, and May 22 at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the annual Sprint All-Star Race.

“The BB&T/RCR partnership has been successful both on the track and in the marketplace,” said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. “BB&T has created winning activation programs for its customers and clients through its racing activities and RCR has been fortunate enough to take BB&T to the winner’s circle in the Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series, as well as the head table at the Nationwide Series championship banquet. We appreciate their continued commitment to RCR and the sport as a whole.”

The BB&T/RCR partnership began in 2007 with a partial Nationwide Series program with Bowyer. The program expanded in 2008, with primary sponsorship in the Nationwide Series and a two-race primary position with Bowyer’s Sprint Cup Series program. Bowyer & Company went on to capture the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series drivers’ championship and won the Sprint Cup Series race in May at Richmond International Raceway. The program moved fulltime to the Cup Series in 2009.

“Our partnership with Richard Childress Racing has served as a platform and an accent of numerous marketing strategies during the past three years,” said BB&T Chief Marketing Officer Steve Wiggs. “From the top down, RCR is always committed to helping BB&T create meaningful programs that generate excitement with our clients and prospective clients. Many of our new clients and employees in Alabama and Florida were already familiar with our brand through our association with RCR. We hope our primary sponsorship of both races at Talladega and major associate sponsorship of both races at Daytona and the season finale at Homestead-Miami will increase their brand awareness and loyalty to BB&T.”

BUSH’S BAKED BEANS STRENGTHENS PARTNERSHIP WITH JTG DAUGHERTY RACING TO BECOME PRIMARY SPONSOR OF THE NO. 47 TOYOTA FOR MULTIPLE NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES EVENTS
HARRISBURG, N.C. (January 13, 2010) – – Today JTG Daugherty Racing team officials are proud to announce Bush Brothers and Company’s Bush’s Baked Beans brand will be a primary sponsor of Marcos Ambrose and the No. 47 Toyota team for five primary races and will also serve as an associate sponsor during the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.
“We are proud to enter our ninth season as partners with JTG Daugherty Racing and thrilled to have Marcos as our driver,” said Ray Kielarowski, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Bush Brothers and Company. “We look forward to kicking off the new season at the track and sharing the Winner’s Circle with him in 2010.”

Bush’s Baked Beans will be positioned on Ambrose’s No. 47 Toyota’s hood for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events at Talladega Superspeedway on April 25, Richmond International Raceway on May 1, Bristol Motor Speedway on August 21, New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 19 and Dover International Speedway on September 26.

Ambrose, who finished 18th in the championship standings, was pleased to hear the news.

“This is really great news,” Ambrose said. “I’ve always been a big fan of Bush’s Baked Beans. Because I love the outdoors, I really enjoying firing up the grill with my family and we always include Bush’s Baked Beans as a side item after we finish up grilling with Kingsford® Charcoal. It doesn’t matter if we are at home or at the track, grilling is a great experience all season long.”

Tad Geschickter, co-owner of JTG Daugherty Racing, has been partners with Bush Brothers and Company for nearly a decade.

“Bush’s Baked Beans is a great family brand,” said Geschickter. “It fits really well with our partner Kingsford® Charcoal. You need Bush’s Baked Beans on the side of your plate for every grilling occasion. They’ve been tremendously loyal to us and this is their ninth season in sponsorship with JTG Daugherty Racing. They have committed more resources to their program for 2010 than they ever have to really step up their involvement. We are pleased they are seeing their program pay dividends. We are happy Bush’s Baked Beans are going to be a bigger part of the sponsorship portfolio for our racing organization this year.”

Thanks in part to Bush’s Baked Beans’ support, Ambrose posted impressive finishes during his first season of full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition. After making history as the first Australian driver to compete in the Daytona 500, he became increasingly versatile and amassed four top-five, seven top-10 and 14 top-15 finishes. He recorded his career-best NASCAR Sprint Cup Series finish at Watkins Glen International with a runner-up finish on the heels of his second-career NASCAR Nationwide Series victory finish with JTG Daugherty Racing.

Ambrose is proud to represent and continue his relationship with Bush’s Baked® Beans during the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season that kicks off with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, February 14th live on FOX at 1 p.m. ET.

San Bernardino County, Calif. (Jan. 13, 2010) – Auto Club Speedway and NASCAR officials today announced that the Speedway’s October Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race – the Pepsi 500 – will now be 400 miles, rather than 500. Track officials also announced that the race, sponsored by Pepsi since 2008, will be re-branded the Pepsi Max 400.

The Pepsi Max 400 will remain one of NASCAR’s much anticipated “playoff” events, with the green flag set to wave Sunday, Oct. 10 at Noon local time (3 p.m. ET) on ABC.

“As fans well know, conversations with NASCAR in regard to making Auto Club Speedway the most competitive track possible for NASCAR racing have been on-going,” said Speedway President Gillian Zucker. “The results of some changes made by NASCAR such as double-file restarts and tire changes were seen at our inaugural CHASE race, arguably one of the best races ever at the Speedway. This additional rules change to 400 miles is further evidence of NASCAR’s commitment to racing excitement and to Southern California race fans.”

Fans experiencing Auto Club Speedway can also take advantage of free parking, bring in their own food, or partake in the unbelievable menu items on site as well as other cost-savings opportunities while enjoying a full day of entertainment and fun at a fantastic family value.

To purchase tickets call 800-944-RACE (7223), or visit http://www.autoclubspeedway.com.