Kangaroo Express and Coca-Cola Partner for Kids at Kyle Petty’s Victory Junction
Five-week fundraiser across three states; more than 700 stores to sponsor campers

CARY, N.C., March 30, 2011 – The Pantry, Inc. (Nasdaq:PTRY), the leading independently operated convenience store chain in the southeastern United States, is partnering with Coca-Cola for a third consecutive year to send children to Victory Junction, a year-round camping environment for children ages six to 16 with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses. The five-week fundraiser launches April 1 in more than 700 Kangaroo Express convenience stores in N.C., S.C. and Va.

Victory Junction was founded in 2004 by Kyle and Pattie Petty in honor of their late son Adam. The camp relies solely on donations from individuals and corporations like Kangaroo Express to give children a once in a lifetime camping experience. It costs $2,500 to send one child to camp for a week at camp at no cost to their families. For every customer that donates $1, Kangaroo Express will provide an official Victory Junction thank you card and a $0.50 discount coupon on 20- or 24-ounce Coca-Cola products.

“Kangaroo Express is proud to participate in programs and events that make such a huge difference in the communities we serve, such as sending children to Victory Junction,” said John Fisher, senior vice president of marketing for Kangaroo Express. “Last year the campaign raised $200,000 and we are excited as we expect that donation to grow this year with an expanded region of stores participating in the campaign.”

All funds raised during this campaign will enable Kangaroo Express and Coca-Cola to sponsor children during two weeks of summer camp. On May 29, Kangaroo Express will present a check to Victory Junction at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Update: This year’s fundraiser has already, in the second week, surpassed the total amount raised last year! (More than $200k) The goal is to raise enough through the fundraiser to cover the costs of every camper.

“Coca-Cola is proud to team up with Kangaroo Express to help Victory Junction achieve its mission of providing a life-changing experience for children with chronic medical conditions,” said Dan Holmes, Vice President of Marketing, Coca-Cola Bottling Consolidated. “Over the past few years, Victory Junction has found an incredibly special place in our hearts.”

Kangaroo Express stores in Charleston, S.C. first began raising funds for Victory Junction in 2009. In 2010 the program was expanded to all of North and South Carolina and this year the company is proud to further expand the program by including stores in Virginia and supporting credit card donations.

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“Victory Junction provides an experience of enrichment and camaraderie to children from across the country and we are so appreciative that once again this campaign will help us see as many children as we can in 2011,” said Brooke Hondros, director of development for Victory Junction. “No family incurs the expense of sending a child to camp due to the generous support of our volunteers and corporate donors like Kangaroo Express and Coca-Cola.”

About Victory Junction
Victory Junction is a year-round camping environment for children ages six to 16 with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses. Founded by Kyle and Pattie Petty in honor of their son Adam, the camp is located in Randleman, NC, with a second location opening soon in Kansas City, KS. Victory Junction offers programs for a range of disease groups and maintains strong relationships with more than 30 partner hospitals. Victory Junction’s mission is to provide life-changing camping experiences that are exciting, fun and empowering, in a safe and medically-sound environment. As a not-for-profit organization, the camp operates solely through the support of generous individuals, groups and corporations to provide this experience at no charge to children and their families. For more information or to donate, visit http://www.victoryjunction.org

About The Pantry
Headquartered in Cary, North Carolina, The Pantry, Inc. is the leading independently operated convenience store chain in the southeastern United States and one of the largest independently operated convenience store chains in the country. As of December 6, 2010, the Company operated 1,672 stores in thirteen states under select banners, including Kangaroo Express(r), its primary operating banner. The Pantry’s stores offer a broad selection of merchandise, as well as gasoline and other ancillary services designed to appeal to the convenience needs of its customers.

NASCAR, Walmart Join Forces In Support Of U.S. Military Families

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 12, 2011) – As First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden launch their initiative, “Joining Forces,” to support military families today in Washington, D.C., NASCAR and Walmart have partnered to produce a public service announcement (PSA) campaign recognizing the sacrifices and challenges military families face throughout the United States.
These PSAs, which will feature a number of NASCAR drivers and be shown in more than 500 Walmart locations, will highlight opportunities for NASCAR fans and Walmart customers to support military families in their local communities.
“NASCAR has a long history of supporting our men and women in uniform and their families,” said Marcus Jadotte, NASCAR managing director of public affairs. “We are proud to partner with Walmart to produce a PSA campaign in support of the First Lady and Dr. Biden’s call to action in support of military families.”
Scheduled to launch Memorial Day Weekend, the NASCAR-produced spots will direct viewers to a website – http://www.joiningforces.gov – where they can learn more about opportunities to support local efforts.
Support of the “Joining Forces” initiative falls in line with a number of other important military initiatives for NASCAR.
· NASCAR will host its 7th Annual Tribute to the Soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in August 2011. The event includes NASCAR drivers, executives and team owners visiting soldiers and wounded warriors at Walter Reed, followed by an autograph session, dinner and performance for the service members and their families.
· NASCAR, together with the Armed Forces Foundation (AFF) and in support of their mission of “Serving Those Who Serve,” will continue to recognize service men and women through a newly-launched “Troops to the Track” program. Each “Troops to the Track” program offers wounded service members and those serving in particularly stressful positions in the military a respite from their daily routines for a VIP style NASCAR experience during a race weekend.
· NASCAR will continue hosting a series of NASCAR watch parties at military facilities around the country in an effort to thank and honor service members while they are serving on base.

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

(April 9, 2011)

FORT WORTH, Texas — After a 76-race absence from victory lane, Matt Kenseth needed a quick refresher course.

“Show me where to park this thing,” Kenseth radioed to crew chief Jimmy Fennig after beating race runner-up Clint Bowyer to the checkered flag by a whopping 8.315 seconds in Saturday night’s Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. “It’s been a while.”

That it had. Kenseth’s NASCARSprint Cup Series winless streak dated to February 2009, when he won the Daytona 500 and the second race of the season at Fontana, Calif. — and nothing after that.

The victory was Kenseth’s second at Texas and the 19th of his NASCAR SprintCup career. Kenseth’s Roush Fenway Racing teammates Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle came home third and fourth, respectively, with Paul Menard completing the top five.

Marcos Ambrose ran sixth and polesitter David Ragan seventh, as Ford drivers claimed five of the top seven positions. Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kurt Busch completed the top 10.

“I’ve said it after every win, but especially after over two years, I didn’t know if I’d ever have a chance to get here again,” Kenseth said after climbing form his car in victory lane. “We had a packed house tonight, and it probably wasn’t the closest finish for them, but we had great racing all night.”

Kenseth, who led 169 of 334 laps, said staying out front in clean air was the key to winning the race.

“A couple of times, when we got behind a little bit, it took awhile to get to the front. We were short on fuel (because of a fueling issue on pit road), but because of the tire situation—how much time you could gain on (new) tires — we got lucky. When we pitted, it forced the field to pit. That was the key in long runs.”

Long runs indeed. The race ended on a green-flag run of 114 laps, after the only violent wreck of the night caused the fifth caution of the race on Lap 215.

Kenseth passed Bowyer for the lead on Lap 249, but one lap later, Kenseth relinquished the top spot when he brought the No. 17 Ford to pit road.

With Kenseth bearing down, Bowyer had made a spectacular save a few laps earlier, after his car slid sideways as he tried to pass the lapped car of Brian Vickers.

“Dang it,” Bowyer said. “That was my fault, totally my fault. You come up on those lappers, and they hold you up so bad. Matt started to catch me, and I was pressing, trying to get around (Vickers). He gave me room. I just slid up and got into him.

“Man, I thought it was going to end our day completely.”

Kenseth’s pit stop on Lap 250, necessary because his car hadn’t taken on a full load of fuel on the previous stop, started a parade to pit road that lasted 26 laps. Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch pressed the issue by staying out as long as possible, hoping for a caution.

Busch pitted on Lap 270. Stewart waited until Lap 276, opening a fuel window that would allow him to finish the race without another stop—or so he thought. But Stewart was penalized for speeding on pit road and then ran out of fuel on the last lap, finishing 12th, the last car on the lead lap.

Bowyer had just grabbed the lead after a restart on Lap 214 when a bone-jarring wreck on the backstretch sent the cars of Martin Truex Jr., Mark Martin and Regan Smith to the garage. Brad Keselowski checked up in front of Truex, who did likewise, and the chain reaction turned Truex sideways after slight contact from Kevin Harvick.

Martin and Smith were innocent victims, but their cars were crippled nonetheless.

Notes: Edwards regained the series lead by nine points over Kyle Busch, who finished 16th. Kenseth moved up six spots to third. … Earnhardt climbed two positions to sixth in the standings, his highest ranking since he finished second in the 2010 season-opening Daytona 500. … The 169 laps Kenseth led were 61 more than he led all last year.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Carl Edwards held off tenacious Brad Keselowski to win Friday night’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway.

The victory was Edwards’ second at Texas, his first of the season, the 30th of his career and the first for the new Ford Mustang in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

Keselowski crossed the stripe .482 seconds behind Edwards. Paul Menard came home third, followed by Joey Logano and Elliott Sadler. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished eighth and retained the series points lead.

Kyle Busch, who was gunning for his third consecutive win and fourth of the season, was chasing Edwards as the two battled for the lead on Lap 88 when the No. 52 Chevrolet of Tim Schendel blew a tire and slid up into Busch’s path. With no room to maneuver and no time to react, Busch slammed into the back of Schendel’s car, knocking Busch’s No. 18 Toyota out of the race.

“We started out a little bit tight, and the track was actually coming our way a little bit,” Busch said. “It started to free up a little bit that last run right before we wrecked. We felt pretty good about it. We were just biding our time. We were just running there—we were running hard, but we were just running.

“It felt like we were probably the only car that was going to give Carl a shot. It’s a shame that we didn’t have the chance to race it out the rest of the night.”