FOR RELEASE:  date

CONTACT:   WALLY REESE

Phone: 303   979 - 1133,  WReese7509@AOL 

ORLANDO, Fla. - “At Chevrolet ‘most dependable - longest lasting trucks on the road’ is not just catchy advertising,” said C/K Truck Brand Manager Kurt Ritter, “it is our brand’s reason for being. This $50,000 award for Chevrolet teams competing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck backs up that commitment.”

“We have named the special trophy and the cash award The Chevrolet “Like A Rock” Award to further tie our truck racing activities in with our brand advertising and marketing programs for the full-sized C/K pickup line”, said Ritter.

“We believe that prospective buyers want dependability as well as performance when they are considering the purchase of a new car or truck,” said Ritter, “and racing is a good way of getting Chevrolet’s message to that prospective buyer.

“The exposure Chevrolet has received on television, radio and on the sports pages by competing and winning two manufacturer championships in this series has been nothing short of phenomenal - and we aim to go for the third title this year.”

The full-sized pickup remains the largest single model in the Chevrolet product line with 1996 sales of 526,960 units.

The newly announced winner-take-all award will go to the 1997 Chevrolet truck team that completes all or the most racing laps during the 26-race season. Race laps for each team will be independently recorded following each race and all 54 of the teams currently registered are eligible.

Had this program been in effect for the 1996 season, it would have been a close battle between Ron Hornaday’s #16 Dale Earnhardt team and Jack Sprague’s #24 Rick Hendrick team. Hornaday would have taken the prize by finishing all but two of the 4536 race laps dur-ing the season. Sprague was close behind, finishing 4528 or all but eight laps.

Hornaday and Sprague finished 1 - 2 in the 1996 NASCAR series and are expected to be front runners for the driver championship in 1997.

In addition to the “Like a Rock” $50,000 award, Chevrolet will continue to offer up to $17,500 in contingency awards for each of the 26 races in the series for an additional $455,000. A race winning Chevrolet will receive $10,000, a second place $5,000 and a third place $2,500.

At the end of the year, an additional $5,000 will go to the Chevrolet team contributing the most points towards the Manufacturers Cup. All contingency awards are conditional on the team complying with decal and other requirements.

The 1997 NASCAR Truck series opened with the Chevy Trucks Challenge, a 200 mile/200 lap race, on the one-mile Walt Disney World oval in Orlando, Fla., Sunday, January 19.

Go to Chevrolet Motorsports