hearing #17-Matt Kenseth will race either 8 Cup or 8 BGN races with Smirnoff Ice as the sponsor, the BGN thing makes sense, since he is running 15 races with Bayer/Alka Seltzer, not sure about the Cup part of the rumor.(1-25-2003) UPDATE: hearing this is for 8 Cup races, with at least one Richmond race to be part of it.(1-27-2003) UPDATE 2: Smirnoff Ice Triple Black will sponsor Roush Racing driver Matt Kenseth’s #17 Ford in a limited program of 2003 Cup races, beginning with The Winston all-star race in May at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The program includes at least co-primary sponsorship of Kenseth’s Ford Taurus, whose five wins in 2002 led the series, for eight races and secondary status for the balance of the season. The partnership includes driver appearances, the use of show cars and image rights, a large hospitality program and an extensive social responsibility agenda. A Smirnoff spokesperson said an advertising program was in the works featuring Kenseth, who said that was one of the “coolest” aspects of the program. Kenseth will drive the Smirnoff Ice car at The Winston, Pepsi 400 at Daytona, Brickyard 400, Southern 500, Richmond (Sept), Talladega (Sept) and Atlanta (Oct). The race at Texas on March 30 is a co-primary event with Dewalt Tools.( NASCAR.com , see an image of the car there – do NOT email it to me)(2-8-2003)
