New York, (August 10, 2005) - Discovery Channel announced today that AutoZone, Subway and Yellow Book are sponsors for its upcoming series DRIVER X: RACE FOR THE RIDE, which goes behind the scenes with Roush Racing to search for its next team member and future NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship contender. With more than 75 million fans, NASCAR ranks as the fastest growing sport in the U.S. DRIVER X: RACE FOR THE RIDE presents an unprecedented look at this competitive world of professional racing and provides AutoZone, Subway and Yellow Book with a unique platform to reach this massive audience of loyal fans.
As part of the sponsorship, AutoZone, Subway and Yellow Book are strategically integrated into the series, receiving logos on the race trucks, drivers' uniforms and race team transporters featured in the program. The sponsors also receive special advertising, including commercial spots, promotional billboards and tagged tune-ins throughout each episode of the series.
"At Discovery, we are continually looking for ways to expand advertisers' opportunities for exposure to their target audiences," said Joe Abruzzese, president, advertising sales, Discovery Networks, U.S. "With DRIVER X: RACE FOR THE RIDE, we have found a way to bring yet another compelling, knowledge-based series to the network that simultaneously harnesses a large, devoted group in NASCAR fans to the benefit of our sponsors."
In addition to on-air presence, the sponsorships extend to Discovery's online assets and feature AutoZone, Subway and Yellow Book on the DRIVER X: RACE FOR THE RIDE fan site at Discovery.com. Designed to drive tune-in and encourage fans to follow the competition online, the co-branded web site will include a combination of feature stories, photo galleries, interactive polls and streaming broadband video from DRIVER X: RACE FOR THE RIDE.
Premiering Monday, October 31, DRIVER X: RACE FOR THE RIDE will determine who will join Jack Roush's legendary team as a fully sponsored driver in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Contestants will be put through the paces as they work to win a multi-million dollar contract on this elite team that includes NASCAR superstar Mark Martin and defending Nextel Cup Series champion Kurt Busch. DRIVER X: RACE FOR THE RIDE gives a real glimpse into the world of pro-drivers and an inside the cockpit view of real racecars. Dreams soar or crash as one young driver snags a spot on Roush's team and has the chance to become the next favorite of the 75 million strong NASCAR nation.
About Discovery Channel:
Discovery Channel is the United States' largest cable television network, serving 90.2 million households across the nation with the finest in informative entertainment. Discovery Networks, U.S., a unit of Discovery Communications, Inc., operates and manages Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, Discovery Health Channel, Discovery HD Theater, Discovery Kids Channel, Discovery Times Channel, The Science Channel, Discovery Home Channel, Military Channel, Discovery en Español, FitTV, Discovery Kids en Español and Discovery Travel & Living (Viajar y Vivir). The unit also distributes BBC AMERICA.
About AutoZone:
As of May 7, 2005, AutoZone sells auto and light truck parts, chemicals and accessories through 3,505 AutoZone stores in United States and 73 AutoZone stores in Mexico and also sells the ALLDATA brand automotive diagnostic and repair software. On the web, AutoZone sells diagnostic and repair information and auto and light truck parts through www.autozone.com.
About SUBWAY:
The SUBWAY restaurant chain, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, is the world's largest submarine sandwich franchise, with more than 23,000 locations in 82 countries. The chain is also the second largest fast-food chain in the world and has surpassed McDonald's in number of locations in the United States, Canada and most recently, Australia. Headquartered in Milford, Connecticut, and with regional offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Brisbane, Miami and Singapore, the SUBWAY® chain was co-founded by Fred DeLuca and Dr. Peter Buck in 1965. That partnership marked the beginning of a remarkable journey-one that made it possible for thousands of individuals to build and succeed in their own business. The SUBWAY® brand was ranked the number one franchise opportunity in Entrepreneur magazine's 2005 Franchise 500 listing. This marks the 13th time in 17 years that the chain has achieved this honor. For more information about the SUBWAY® chain, visit www.subway.com. SUBWAY is a registered trademark of Doctor's Associates Inc.
About Yellow Book USA:
Established in 1930, Yellow Book USA is the oldest and largest independent yellow pages publisher in the nation. In recent years, Yellow Book has made a number of strategic acquisitions and entered scores of new markets. With the recent acquisition of TransWestern Publishing, Yellow Book will publish approximately 900 directories in 46 states, plus the District of Columbia with a distribution of over 100 million directories.
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