More Paint Schemes: hearing that #18-Bobby Labonte and #20-Tony Stewart will have Talladega Special paint schemes, something to do with the Coca-Cola polar bears(5-13-2001) UPDATE – Labonte/Stewart Announcement: #18-Bobby Labonte, #20-Tony Stewart and representatives from Joe Gibbs Racing, Interstate Batteries and The Home Depot will hold a press conference at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to announce plans for a 2001 holiday promotion with Toys for Tots on Friday, August 3 at 10:30am/ct at Indianapolis Motor Speedway(Gibbs Racing PR)(7-29-2001) UPDATE 2: The Coca-Cola Polar Bears, one of America’s best-known holiday icons, will come out of hibernation early for a special appearance on Bobby Labonte and Tony Stewart’s race cars during the Alabama 500 NASCAR race in Talladega on October 21. Both special paint schemes feature the famous polar bear decked out in racing gear, ready for action. On Labonte’s #18 Interstate Batteries car, the Coca-Cola Polar Bear dons shades and grips the wheel of his race car. For the Home Depot car of Stewart, the Coca-Cola Polar Bear becomes a part of the #20 pit crew, complete with radio headset and tire changer’s air gun. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of licensed merchandise featuring the Coca-Cola Polar Bears will be donated to Toys For Tots, a non-profit organization that distributes toys to needy children during the holiday season. In addition, Home Depot is working with Marine Corps Toys for Tots’ units around the Talladega, Phoenix, Rockingham, Homestead and Atlanta race weekends to provide toy donation collection centers at Home Depot’s NASCAR display unit set up at the race tracks. Joe Gibbs Racing’s shop in Huntersville, N.C. also will accept toy donations for Toys for Tots. Although the Polar Bear cars won’t actually hit the track until the Alabama 500 on October 21, racing fans and collectors will be able to participate in the holiday-themed promotion this summer. Action Performance, the industry leader in motorsports-related product licensing and merchandising, has created exclusive Coca-Cola Polar Bear die-cast collectibles, racing apparel, and other unique merchandise that will be available the beginning of August(Joe Gibbs Racing/Coca Cola/Action PR)(8-3-2001) IMAGES: see my Paint Scheme Gallery for images of the cars(8-4-2001) (8-3-2001)
