Wednesday

NASCAR Performance And Its Family Of Exclusive Partners To Sponsor NASCAR Hall Of Fame

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (March 3, 2010) – The NASCAR Automotive Group, based in Charlotte, N.C., has committed to a multi-year agreement to sponsor the NASCAR Hall of Fame on behalf of its exclusive NASCAR Performance automotive partners.

Through this sponsorship agreement, NASCAR Performance will integrate its family of automotive brands into an interactive exhibit area in the Race Week section of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The NASCAR Performance Race Shop is designed to give visitors an overview of a modern day race team shop and a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes for teams and their automotive engineers and technicians to prepare a car for the upcoming race weekend.

“This sponsorship provides extraordinary value back to our NASCAR Performance partners and adds to the fan experience by putting their brands in front of millions of NASCAR fans in an authentic way while also allowing them to promote around this exciting once-in-a-lifetime facility,” said Odis Lloyd, managing director, NASCAR Automotive Group. “We are proud to support one of the most exciting additions to our sport in decades – the NASCAR Hall of Fame.”

NASCAR Performance partners will receive branding within the NASCAR Performance Race Shop and have access to additional NASCAR Hall of Fame marketing and media assets. In addition, a full-scale NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car will be on display in the area with authentic Contingency Sponsor decals on the front quarter panel, almost all of which are exclusive automotive partners of NASCAR.

“As a licensed attraction of NASCAR, we appreciate the support of the NASCAR Performance Group and the many brands that teams rely on for on-track performance,” said Winston Kelley, executive director, NASCAR Hall of Fame. “It was a natural fit for these automotive companies to be featured in Race Week, an interactive area of the facility that takes people through a week in the life of today’s race industry.”

NASCAR Performance partners are among the leading brands in the automotive industry and relied upon by NASCAR teams throughout the season. These partners include: 3M; Autolite; BWD/Standard; Canadian Tire; Comp Cams; Edelbrock; Exide; Goodyear Gatorback; Goodyear Gemini; K&N Filters; Lincoln Electric; Mahle; Mechanix Wear; Midtronics; Mobil 1; Moog; New Pig Wipes; NASCAR Technical Institute; O’Reilly Auto Parts; Raybestos; Safelite Auto Glass; Safety-Kleen; Schumacher; TRI; Velocity, Wheel Pros; Whelen Engineering; and WIX.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame broke ground in Charlotte, N.C. on Jan. 25, 2007 and will open May 11, 2010. The 150,000-square-foot entertainment attraction honors the history and heritage of NASCAR.

The Inaugural Class of 2010, which includes Dale Earnhardt, Bill France Jr., Bill France Sr., Junior Johnson and Richard Petty, will be officially inducted in a ceremony at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on May 23, 2010.

NASCAR is one of the few professional sports leagues that have created an automotive-specific marketing program for its family of automotive sponsors. The platform, branded as NASCAR Performance, includes exclusive marketing rights, the ability to co-brand products and product packaging as well as a long list of integrated marketing and media platforms. The NASCAR Performance product program logo is a symbol of integrity that represents NASCAR’s commitment to precision and quality.

About NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for one of North America’s premier sports. NASCAR is the No. 1 spectator sport – with more of the top 20 highest attended sporting events in the U.S. than any other sport, and is the No. 2 rated regular-season sport on television. NASCAR races are broadcast in more than 150 countries and in 20 languages. NASCAR fans are the most brand loyal in all of sports, and as a result more Fortune 500 companies participate in NASCAR than any other sport.

NASCAR consists of three national series (the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series), four regional series, and one local grassroots series, as well as two international series. Also part of NASCAR is Grand-Am Road Racing, known for its competition on road courses with multiple classes of cars. NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races at 100 tracks in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada and Mexico. Based in Daytona Beach (Fla.), NASCAR has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Charlotte (N.C.), Concord (N.C.), Conover (N.C.), Bentonville (Ark.), Mexico City, and Toronto.

About NASCAR Automotive

The NASCAR Automotive Group, based in the Charlotte, N.C. office, supports sponsorship and licensing partnerships of companies in the automotive category and the Prize Money & Decal Program. Under the NASCAR Performance brand, automotive partners build brand awareness and sales of their products and services via an integrated marketing program. The program includes: The NASCAR Technical Institute – a branch of Universal Technical Institute Inc. (UTI) that trains automotive technicians for the workforce; the NASCAR Performance Network – a nationwide network of quality automotive repair shops; NASCAR Angels – a reality based TV show that repairs the cars of deserving people; a weekly TV show on SPEED called “NASCAR Performance”; a national radio show called “NASCAR Performance LIVE” on MRN and SIRIUS XM Radio; and print and online media programs with the BABCOX family of automotive magazines, and NASCAR.COM.

NASCAR Hall of Fame
Opening May 11, 2010 in uptown Charlotte, N.C., the 150,000-square-foot NASCAR Hall of Fame is an interactive, entertainment attraction honoring the history and heritage of NASCAR. The high-tech venue, designed to educate and entertain race fans and non-fans alike, includes artifacts, interactive exhibits, 275-person state-of-the-art theater, Hall of Honor, Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant, NASCAR Hall of Fame Gear Shop and NASCAR Media Group-operated broadcast studio. The five-acre site also includes a privately developed 19-story office tower and 102,000-square-foot expansion to the Charlotte Convention Center, highlighted by a 40,000 square-foot ballroom. The NASCAR Hall of Fame is owned by the City of Charlotte, licensed by NASCAR and operated by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority. www.nascarhall.com.

- NASCAR, Press Release