Checkers Sponsors Gator Car to Battle Nole Car in NASCAR Race
Friday, August 26, 2005 | Football
Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHKR), Official Burger of the Florida Gators®, NASCAR®, and the Florida State Seminoles®, today unveiled its No. 45 Gator and No. 10 Seminole stock cars that will compete at the final NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series season event at Homestead- Miami Speedway on November 20th. Kyle Petty will drive the No. 45 Checkers University of Florida Dodge, and Scott Riggs will drive the No. 10 Checkers® Florida State University Chevrolet.
“Checkers/Rally's® has enjoyed phenomenal national visibility in this, our first year as the Official Burger and Drive-thru Restaurant of NASCAR,” said Richard Turer, Vice President of Marketing, Checkers Drive- In Restaurants, Inc. “With nearly one in four restaurants located in Florida, our ability to link our position in NASCAR to our already successful relationship with the Gators and Seminoles is very exciting. We continue to see brand awareness rise to new levels. This event will only contribute to our long list of successes in 2005.”
This sponsorship is designed to give sports fans one more opportunity to gear up for the intra-Florida rivalry on the football field set for the following week. The Company expects to create excitement due to the tremendous fan cross-over among the two sports.
In September, new collectible No. 45 Florida Gator and No. 10 Florida State Seminole cups will be available at nearly 150 Checkers restaurants in Florida as Checkers kicks-off the second year of its “Pick Your Champ” promotion in Florida.
“As our new sponsor, Checkers/Rally's has been fantastic,” said Scott Riggs, NASCAR driver of the No. 10 Florida State Chevrolet. “It's great to be able to take our relationship to a new level with a football tie- in. This is a very relevant program for our fans.”
During the unveiling of the new cars at Bristol Motor Speedway, Checkers pledged $5,000 to both Riggs' and Petty's charities: Carolina Donor Services and the Victory Junction Gang, respectively. An additional $5,000 will be donated to the race-within-a-race winner's charity on November 20th.
“This sponsorship allows us some friendly competition, which is always fun,” said Kyle Petty, NASCAR driver of the No. 45 University of Florida Dodge. “We are especially grateful to Checkers for their donation to the Victory Junction Gang, our camp for terminally ill children. We look forward to racing the Checkers Gator car at Miami.”
University of Florida Gator and Florida State University Seminole 1:24 scale die-cast cars will also be available as part of this program. The die casts will feature Checkers' logo along with the Gator or Seminole logo. The cars can be purchased online at http://www.gatorsnolesracing.com or by calling 1-877-212-6017, and are also being sold through school newsletters, newspapers, Web sites, and onsite during university home football games. A portion of the proceeds of the sale of the die casts benefits the scholarship programs at both schools.
In 2004, Florida Checkers locations offered collectible cups and special Gator/Seminole Combo meals as part of its “Pick Your Champ” promotion with a portion of the proceeds going to the schools' athletic scholarship funds. This contribution, combined with a Corporate pledge to each university's food service-related educational programs, brought Checkers' contribution in 2004 to over $125,000.
“On November 20th, UF and FSU will compete on the track, and on the 26th, the teams compete on the gridiron,” said Jeremy Foley, Director of Athletics, University of Florida. “This is the first time this rivalry has been promoted through another sporting event like this, and we want to thank Checkers for their outstanding support.”
“Checkers has been a great partner for us with its 'Pick Your Champ' promotion in Florida, and the die-cast cars will help raise more funds for our school,” said Dave Hart, Jr., Director of Athletics, Florida State University. “Alumni, football fans and race fans can all enjoy the commemorative cars.”
