Catchfence

Auction Launched with NASCAR Foundation

WELCOME, N.C. (October 14, 2009) – As part of its 40th anniversary celebration, Richard Childress Racing is sponsoring a fiberglass pig statue for the Pigs in the City community art initiative hosted by Uptown Lexington, Inc. The pig is being auctioned online through October 27 with the NASCAR Foundation as a fundraiser for the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma.

The direct link for the auction is http://auctions.nascar.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=109756904&prmenbr=63306014&aunbr=110103614&topPic=&MoreSubs

“We appreciate all of the NASCAR drivers contributing their signatures to the Childress Institute’s pig statue,” said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. “We know it was an odd request, but all of the drivers – from Jimmie Johnson to Richard Petty – were kind enough to sign it because they knew it was for our fans and a good cause. We hope this effort will increase awareness about serious injuries in kids, as well as highlight all that Uptown Lexington and the Barbecue Festival do for our area.”

The pig statue will be on display at RCR’s Museum store through October 22 in celebration of RCR’s 40th Anniversary Fan Day at RCR’s campus in Welcome, N.C., then it will join its Pigs in the City brethren at the 26th Annual Barbecue Festival on October 24 in Lexington, N.C. until the end of the auction. Many of the other pigs will be auctioned at ‘Pigs in the City…After Dark’ on Friday, October 23 at the Davidson County Fairgrounds Exhibition Building.

Pigs in the City is a popular public art initiative displayed on the streets of historic Uptown Lexington from May 22 through October 19. The fifth installment features 20 new, and several returning, life-size fiberglass pigs each uniquely designed and painted by local artists. The RCR/Childress Institute pig is the 120th since the project began in 2003, and was created by Davidson County, N.C., artist Margaret Sink. The pig measures 36 inches tall and 52 inches long, and weighs about 35 pounds.

“Pigs in the City has attracted visitors from across the world to the streets of uptown Lexington each summer since 2003”, said Jo Ellen Edwards, Executive Director of Uptown Lexington, Inc. “The 120 pigs created during the five years of the project have raised funds for the revitalization efforts of Uptown Lexington, Inc. This pig will impact not only the on-going projects of Uptown Lexington, Inc. in our uptown area, but it will also impact the lives of children and their families for years to come.”

Proceeds from RCR Fan Day will benefit the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma. The Childress Institute was organized in July 2008 by the Childress family with Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Its mission is to prevent and treat life-threatening injuries in children and to help kids affected by life-threatening injuries recover and lead normal lives. Approximately 12,000 children under the age of 18 die each year from traumatic injury, making it the No. 1 killer of children in the United States.

RCR’s Fan Day is a day-long celebration running from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and will include tours of RCR’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series shop, autograph sessions with all the RCR drivers, a pit crew competition, sponsor displays, kid’s entertainment and much more. General admission for RCR Fan Day is $5 with three other package options that includes additional access, at $15 and $25.

A website has been launched to serve as a one-stop outlet for everything from purchasing event tickets to gathering all the up-to-date information race fans will need to take part in the 40th anniversary celebration. Log on to www.RCRFanDay.com and check back often for the latest RCR Fan Day announcements and the 40th anniversary celebration.

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About Richard Childress Racing

Richard Childress Racing (www.rcrracing.com), celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2009, has earned more than 180 victories and 12 NASCAR championships, including six in the Sprint Cup Series with the legendary Dale Earnhardt. RCR was the first organization to win championships in the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series. Its 2009 Sprint Cup Series lineup includes Casey Mears (No. 07 Jack Daniel’s), Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil), Jeff Burton (No. 31 Caterpillar) and Clint Bowyer (No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper). Its 2009 Nationwide Series lineup includes Bowyer, Burton and Stephen Leicht (No. 29 Holiday Inn) and Austin Dillon and Sean Caisse (No. 2 RCR Chevrolet). Austin Dillon, Ty Dillon and Ryan Gifford are RCR developmental drivers in both asphalt and dirt track racing.

About The Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma

The Childress Institute’s (www.ChildressPediatricTrauma.org) mission is to significantly improve survival rates of children nationwide who suffer serious injuries and reduce the lifelong impact of traumatic injuries in children. Richard Childress and his family are providing $5 million to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center to initiate the project. The Medical Center and the Childress family are working with corporations and individuals to raise awareness and an additional $20 million to establish the Institute’s endowment fund. As the national center for championing the care of children with life-threatening injuries, the Childress Institute will: continually raise awareness that serious injuries annually claim the lives of more children than all other causes of death combined; lead research and education efforts to prevent and treat injuries; and identify and help put in place the resources needed to reach more kids faster with the kind of care that makes a difference – in saving their lives and helping them lead a normal life.

About Uptown Lexington, Inc. and Pigs in the City

Uptown Lexington, Inc. (www.uptownlexington.com) is a non-profit uptown revitalization organization celebrating its 16th year of spearheading the economic vitality of Lexington. Uptown Lexington, Inc. is a revitalization organization that sponsors the Pigs in the City initiative, a whimsical public art exhibit encouraging visitors to spend a day strolling the quaint streets of Lexington, N.C., and exploring its unique specialty shops.

For the fifth year, Pigs in the City 5 will place 20 decorated fiberglass pigs along the sidewalks of Uptown Lexington from mid May through late October. Pigs will be standing or sitting and each pig will be decorated by professional or amateur artists. Just prior to the Barbecue Festival, the pigs will be removed from the sidewalks for safe keeping. Depending on the number of pigs not sponsored and purchased, Uptown Lexington, Inc. will host a live auction for individuals or businesses to purchase their favorite decorated pig. Proceeds from the Pigs in the City 5 auction will benefit the programs of Uptown Lexington enabling us to continue revitalizing the central business district of Lexington. For more information call 336-249-0383.

About The Barbecue Festival
The 26th Barbecue Festival (www.barbecuefestival.com) is set for Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009. The streets of Historic Uptown Lexington, NC will transform into a great big playground for more than 100,000 people. The festival will feature six stages of fantastic entertainment, special attractions, shopping, world famous barbecue, and lots of family fun. It all begins at 8:30 a.m. and runs to 6 p.m. Admission to the festival is free and plenty of parking will be available. Shuttles will provide transportation service from satellite parking lots throughout the city. Amtrak trains, running between Raleigh and Charlotte, will stop in Lexington in the morning and afternoon. The Piedmont and Carolinian reserve the Festival day to make their only stop here during the year. The Barbecue Festival continually receives accolades and prestige. It has repeatedly been recognized by the Southeast Tourism Society as one of the Top Ten Festivals in the Southeast. In addition, it has been included in the book, 1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. and Canada Before You Die. USA TODAY recognized the Barbecue Festival as “One of Ten Great Places to Celebrate Food.” And the prestigious Travel & Leisure Magazine claimed the event as “One of the Top Ten Food Festivals in the U.S.A.”

- Richard Childress Racing, Press Release