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.

Goodyear Tire Test Begins Atlanta Motor Speedway’s 2010 Season

HAMPTON, Ga. (Jan. 12, 2009) – Atlanta Motor Speedway’s 2010 NASCAR season kicked off at 9:31 a.m. when Mark Martin took to the high-banked track to begin two days of tire testing by the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. to determine the premier tire for the Kobalt Tools 500 on March 7.

Four NASCAR veterans – Martin, Carl Edwards, Sam Hornish, Jr., and Martin Truex, Jr. – are assisting Goodyear with testing at Atlanta Motor Speedway where Martin posted the fastest lap with a time 29.938 (185.183).

Martin’s time of 29.938 seconds was faster than Truex, Jr.’s qualifying lap of 30.106 (184.149 mph) for September’s Pep Boys Auto 500. He nearly matched his pole-winning performance for last March’s Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway when he posted a 29.640 (187.045).

In addition to Martin’s time, Edwards posted a lap of 29.953 seconds (185.102 mph), followed by Truex, Jr. with a 30.009 (184.744) and Hornish, Jr. with a 30.560 (181.413).

“It’s fast and this is one of my favorite tracks, so it’s really fun here in the middle of winter to get to run 200 mph on a racetrack,” said Edwards, who has three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins in Atlanta. “I’m having a blast.

While most teams are focused on assisting Goodyear, the Atlanta Goodyear Test holds added importance for Truex, Jr., who is participating in his first Goodyear test with his new Michael Waltrip Racing team and with crew chief Pat Tryson.

“So far it’s good for our first time here together,” said Truex, Jr., who won the pole for September’s Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. “We’re just easing into it and feeling things out. The car is fast and it feels good.

“It’s a big deal for us to be able to get out here and get acclimated with each other and get into the swing of things,” added Truex, Jr. “We’ve got a bunch of stuff to go through and try on our car: stuff that Pat has done in the past; stuff they’ve done at MWR; and ideas I have from what I have done. We’ve got a lot of stuff to try in the next day in the half and so far it has gone well.”

All four drivers will return tomorrow for day two of the test.

La Serena, Chile (January 11, 2010) – Stage 9 of the Dakar Rally presented another unique set of challenges for Team HUMMER on Monday as they travelled from Copiapo to La Serena. The start of today’s special was delayed due to dense fog setting in Copiapo over the last few days. Due to the delay, organizers for the Dakar Rally also shortened the route from 547 km to just a total of 354 km, with only 170 km timed. Stage 9 also marked the final day of competition in the Atacama Desert and allowed competitors one last chance to gain ground across the desert’s sand and dunes. By the time drivers reach La Serena, they will have conquered the most technically challenging portion of the rally’s course, but they will still need to complete five additional stages before returning to Buenos Aires for the successful completion of the 2010 Dakar Rally.

Yet another day of getting stuck in the sand would haunt Robby Gordon and his Monster Energy / Toyo Tires HUMMER through the dunes of Copiapo. During the first few kilometers of the stage, Gordon would lose air pressure and get stuck in the dunes. Despite the issues, Gordon in his Monster Energy / Toyo Tires HUMMER would survive and come in 10th place for the day. On a positive note, the duo of Gordon and Grider moved to ninth place overall.

“Today was a tough day, especially through the tricky dune sections and soft sand,” said Robby Gordon. “I got the Monster Energy / Toyo Tires HUMMER stuck twice, but we survived with another top-10 finish. One thing that we learned during this Rally is that we can’t be stopped. Our competition never stops; this race is about endurance and how quickly you recover from obstacles that are thrown at you. I think that we have done a really good job getting back up when we get knocked down.”

The driver of the Vanguard HUMMER would get stuck late in the stage. It was a long day for the driver and navigator trying to get their HUMMER out of the grip of the soft sand. The Vanguard HUMMER would end up in 45th position, but ready to tackle another day tomorrow.

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.