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NASCAR™ SPEEDPARK® NAMES KASEY KAHNE, ELLIOTT SADLER AND DENNY HAMLIN OFFICIAL SPEEDPARK® SPOKESMEN FOR 2007
January 26, 2007, Myrtle Beach, S.C. - - - - - - -
NASCAR™ SpeedPark®, “the official family fun park of NASCAR™” today announced that Kasey Kahne, driver of the number 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger; Elliott Sadler, driver of the number 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger; and Denny Hamlin, driver of the number 11 FedEx Chevrolet, will be the 2007 official spokesmen for NASCAR™ SpeedPark’s® North American locations in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Concord, N.C., Sevierville, Tenn., St. Louis, Mo. and Vaughan, Ontario, Canada.
As official NASCAR™ SpeedPark® spokesmen, Kahne, Sadler and Hamlin will make park appearances throughout the year in an effort to enhance the experience of visiting fans by providing autographs and posing for photographs. The 2007 driver appearance schedule will be announced at a later date.
“As ‘the official family fun park of NASCAR™’, we have a responsibility to NASCAR™ fans to provide them with exciting attractions and unique events unlike anything they have previously experienced,” said Wendi Willis, regional marketing manager for NASCAR™ SpeedPark®. “When selecting our SpeedPark® spokesmen, we find it most important to partner with drivers who promote positive family values. We look forward to hosting Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler and Denny Hamlin at the SpeedParks® as we kick off a successful 2007 season.”
About Kasey Kahne
Kasey Kahne remains one of NASCAR's™ promising young drivers as he begins his third season on the Nextel Cup circuit. The driver who replaced "Awesome Bill from Dawsonville" Elliott in Ray Evernham's number nine Dodge, recorded five second-place finishes and earned the rookie of the year award in 2004. He was also named one of "America's Top 50 Bachelors" that year by People magazine.
The frenzy surrounding Kahne began early in the Washington state native's life. In 1994, he won four Micro-Midget events racing a car built by his father. In 1996, he won 11 of 14 Mini-Sprint events as well as the Hannigan Speedway and Northwest Mini-Sprints championships.
In 2000, Kahne won the USAC Midget championship and was named that series' national driver of the year. He was also named rookie of the year by the USAC Silver Crown Series. From 1998 to 2001, Kahne competed in the World of Outlaws, the Gumont Racing Series, the All-Star Circuit of Champions, the Northern Sprint Tour racing circles, the Atlantic Series and the Formula Ford 2000 Series. He also won the "Night before the 500" Classic at Indianapolis
Raceway Park and in 2001 he became the first driver to post back-to-back victories in the annual event since Jeff Gordon in 1989 and 1990. Kahne began his NASCAR™ career in 2002 running 20 Busch races. In 2003 in the series finale at Homestead, he recorded his first victory. Also in 2003, Kahne became the first Washington native to win back-to-back titles in the Jim Raper Dirt Cup at Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. In May 2005, Kahne started from the pole and won at Richmond for his first Cup victory. He also posted two Busch wins that season.
About Elliott Sadler
Elliott Sadler’s success in NASCAR’s™ premiere series is no surprise to those who knew him during his youth in his hometown of Emporia, Virginia. Climbing behind the wheel of his first go-kart at age seven, Sadler captured more than 200 victories before moving into the Late-Model Stock car division and adding several series championships to his resume. At the age of 18, Sadler joined the ranks of the weekly racing series clinching a track championship title at South Boston Speedway in 1995.
2004 proved to be a breakout season for the Virginia native surprising many in the NASCAR™ garage but few in Sadler’s circle. Sadler struck early at the season opening event at Daytona International Speedway by winning the outside pole for the prestigious Daytona 500. Later in the Speedweeks session, Sadler took the checkered flag for a win in the Gatorade Twin 125 qualifying event marking primary sponsor, M&M’S, first ever trip to Victory Lane. Throughout the season Sadler and the M&M’S Team saw more of the same success with an emotional win at Texas Motor Speedway. Later in the season Sadler scored his third career victory at California Speedway clinching a position in the inaugural NASCAR™ Nextel Cup Chase for the Championship. Sadler was one of four drivers to stay in the top 10 in the point standings the entire season and rounded out the year with two wins, eight top-five and 14 top-10 finishes, finishing a respectable ninth in the championship standings.
After three and a half seasons with RYR, Sadler made the move to Evernham Motorsports in August of 2006. In order to go ahead and begin to build momentum for the 2007 season and beyond, Sadler took the wheel of the No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger at Michigan and will finish out the 2006 season at his new home at Evernham Motorsports.
His first outing driving for Ray Evernham and Dodge, UAW, Dodge Dealers, Valvoline, Stanley and all of the partners of the Evernham Motorsports team proved eventful. Sadler qualified his Dodge on the outside pole and brought it home in the 10th position, the first top-10 finish for the car this year. This gave Evernham partners and fans just a glimpse of what the future holds for Elliott Sadler and his No. 19 Dodge team.
About Denny Hamlin
After his impressive performance in the Nextel Cup Series at the end of 2005, JGR announced Denny Hamlin would take over the #11 FedEx Cup car full time in 2006. As Denny starts the 2006 season, he and fellow teammate J.J. Yeley will both be competing for Rookie of the Year honors.
Denny started his career at the age of seven when he began competing in go-karts. His go-kart accomplishments include 127 wins and five championships as well as winning his first race at age seven.
In 1997 at the age of 16, Denny began his stock car racing career. In his first stock car race, Denny won the pole, set a new track record, and won the race at the season opener at Langley Speedway. He finished the season by winning the Rookie of the Year title and two track championships (Langley Speedway and Southside Speedway in Richmond, VA).
Denny moved to the Grand Stock division in 1998 and 1999, winning five races. He also racked up 20 top-fives and 38 top-tens. Denny finished second in points at Southside Speedway and won the Most Popular Driver Award in 1999. In 2000, Denny started racing Late Model Stock Cars and won the Rookie of the Year Award at Southside Speedway. The following year Denny finished in the top ten at every race at Southampton Motor Speedway.
Finally, in 2002, Denny broke into the Late Model Stock Car winner’s circle scoring 10 wins, 15 poles and 26 top-fives. His 2003 season was simply dominating as he won an amazing 25 races in just 36 starts. He finished in the top-five 32 times and won 30 poles.
In 2004, Denny got the chance to compete in more Late Model Series races, winning at five different tracks – South Boston, Motor Mile, Hickory, Greenville Pickens & Southampton Motor Speedway. Denny also signed a driver development deal with JGR in 2004, giving him the opportunity to compete in five Craftsman Truck Series races for EJP Racing in the #03 Joe Gibbs Performance Chevy Silverado as well as racing in his first Busch Series race, the Bi-LO 200 at Darlington. He started 27th and finished an impressive 8th at Darlington. He also competed in five Craftsman Truck Series races for EJP Racing in the #03 Joe Gibbs Performance Chevy Silverado and scored a top-10 finish in his Craftsman Truck Series debut.
In November of 2004, JGR announced that Denny Hamlin would compete in the #20 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet for a full season in 2005. He finished the season 5th in points and in addition to his full Busch season, Hamlin competed in seven races in the #11 FedEx Nextel Cup Chevrolet. He made three top-10 finishes, won a pole and most importantly, secured a full-time Nextel Cup ride for ’06 in the #11 FedEx Chevrolet. He has already made his presence known on the Nextel Cup circuit this season by winning the Budweiser Shootout in on his first attempt.
About NASCAR® SpeedParks™
Named the Official Family Fun Park of NASCAR® in August 2006, NASCAR® SpeedParks™ are located in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Concord, N.C., St. Louis, Mo., Sevierville, Tenn. and Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. As a top tourist attraction, each NASCAR® SpeedPark® location offers an abundance of NASCAR® themed attractions including a variety of exciting tracks, NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway Simulators, kid-sized rides, rock climbing walls, lazer tag arenas, the state-of-the-art SpeedDome Arcade, children’s indoor playgrounds, an officially-licensed NASCAR® merchandise and apparel retail shop, the Pit Stop Grille, private party and meeting rooms, NASCAR® Challenge Mini-Golf, and the Speed Bumper Boats. NASCAR® SpeedPark™ is open year round. From the premier Mini-Motor Speedway track to the slick SlideWayz track, there is a track for everyone at NASCAR® SpeedPark™.
About International Speed Parks LLC
International Speed Parks LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Burroughs & Chapin Co., Inc. Burroughs & Chapin, a developer and operator of tourism and entertainment facilities in Myrtle Beach, S.C. for more than 100 years, is the worldwide licensee for NASCAR™ SpeedParks®. As part of the partnership with the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, each NASCAR™ SpeedPark® has up to eight tracks and is tailored in size and nature to fit each community in which it is located.
Currently, International Speed Parks LLC encompasses five completed NASCAR™ SpeedParks®. The world’s first NASCAR™ SpeedPark® opened in Myrtle Beach in 1998 and Sevierville, Tenn., is home to the second NASCAR™ SpeedPark, which opened in 1999. The third race-themed park opened at Concord Mills in Concord, N.C., the summer of 2003, making it the first time a NASCAR™ SpeedPark® to become part of a shopping center atmosphere. NASCAR™ SpeedPark® at St. Louis Mills, the fourth location, opened in November 2003. Burroughs & Chapin’s partnership with NASCAR™ and The Mills Corporation is continuing to grow with the addition of the latest NASCAR™ SpeedPark® at Vaughan Mills in Vaughan, Ontario, which opened in January 2005.
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