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| Talladega Superspeedway wants parents and kids to set this Saturday afternoon aside to hop on down to the track's infield for a fabulous Easter Egg Hunt from 1 to 3 p.m.
On March 26, hundreds of brightly-colored eggs will await children ages 1 to 10, and each egg will contain a prize - from candy to race tickets. A separate hunt will be held for two age groups, with one for children ages 1 to 5 and another for children ages 6 to 10. The Easter Bunny will be on hand to pose for photos with those who have brought cameras. Refreshments and snacks will be provided by Pepsi and Golden Flake. A face painter will also adorn the faces of children with colorful Easter art, getting them into the spirit of the hunt. Fans may also enjoy the new Talladega on Wheels vehicle, which features interactive video games, televised race footage and a tire changing machine to test their pit crew skills. The No. 24 Jeff Gordon Pepsi show car will be on hand, and Ford and John Deere vehicles will also be on display. At approximately 1 p.m., egg hunters will be allowed to enter the track at the North Tunnel and proceed into the infield from there. Attendants will direct fans to parking areas, and the hunts will begin at 1:30 p.m. sharp in the north end of the infield. Tickets to the upcoming 2005 Aaron's Dream Weekend at Talladega Superspeedway will be tucked inside select eggs. In each hunt, the Easter Bunny will hide a pair of tickets to each of the events over the course of the spring race weekend, including the Thursday, April 28 Winn-Dixie Qualifying Day Presented By Pepsi for the NASCAR Busch Series, the Friday, April 29 The Birmingham News/Birmingham Post- Herald Qualifying Day for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, the Saturday, April 30 Aaron's 312 NASCAR |
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| We'd been working on a deal since last fall," track public relations director Kristi King said. "Everything finally came together."
Naming rights to the race are part of a multi-year agreement, but neither the exact length of the contract or financial terms were disclosed. Ford also becomes the official car and truck of the speedway. "It's such a natural fit," speedway president Grant Lynch said. "We are thrilled to bring UAW-Ford on board." The speedway had been looking for a sponsor for its fall event since Electronic Arts, an interactive software company that markets numerous electronic sports games, informed the track last summer that it was not renewing its sponsorship after four years. Last October's EA Sports 500 was the last to carry that name. The track had been billing the Oct. 2 race as the Talladega 500. The UAW-Ford deal came in time to be printed on tickets, which go on sale March 7. UAW's partnership with an auto manufacturer is not new to sponsorship of NASCAR races. The union partners with General Motors for the UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway near Charlotte in the fall. Also, the March race at Las Vegas is the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400. Talladega Superspeedway had enjoyed two of the longest running sponsorships in the sport until 2000. That year, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., which for 31 years had stamped the name of its Winston brand of cigarettes on the Winston 500, pulled out as a prelude to its departure from what NASCAR then called the Winston Cup series. Also, Sears ended its 13-year run of sponsoring the DieHard 500 with its brand of automobile batteries. The spring race in 2001 ran unsponsored as the Talladega 500. The fall race that year almost ran as the Alabama 500 until EA Sports stepped in. Aaron's took over sponsorship of the spring race as the Aaron's 499, but that agreement is in its final year. Talks continue about extending that agreement, and King said an announcement could be coming in the "near future." |