hearing Lowe’s will be the sponsor for the #5 Hendrick Motorpsorts Busch team and driver Kyle Busch.(12-16-2003)
UPDATE: Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse will sponsor Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Busch and his No. 5 Chevrolets in the NASCAR Busch Series this season, ThatsRacin.com has learned. Busch, 18, is the younger brother of Nextel Cup (formerly Winston Cup) driver Kurt Busch. Kyle competed in seven Busch races with Hendrick in 2003, with his best finishes a pair of runner-up efforts. Kyle Busch takes over the #5 Chevrolet, driven last season by Brian Vickers, who won three races and the Busch championship. Much of the team remains intact from its championship run. Both Hendrick Motorsports and the public relations representatives for Lowe’s and its Cup team declined to comment on questions regarding the sponsorship of the Busch team. Lowe’s currently sponsors Hendrick Motorsports’ Jimmie Johnson and his #48 Chevrolets in the Cup series.(ThatsRacin.com)(1-2-2004)
UPDATE 2: Lowes and Hendrick Motorsports announced a multi-year agreement today that will feature Lowes as the primary sponsor of the #5 Chevrolet driven by Kyle Busch in the 2004 NASCAR Busch Series. In addition, four Lowes vendor partners, including Shop-Vac, Gladiator GarageWorks, Briggs and Stratton and Pella, will rotate associate sponsorship of the #5 Chevrolet throughout the season.
The success of Team Lowes Racing, with Jimmie Johnson and the talented Team 48 led by Chad Knaus, has resulted in an unprecedented level of interest and excitement from our customers, our employees and our vendor partners, said Dale Pond, Lowes Senior Executive Vice President of Merchandising and Marketing. Were honored that our vendor partners view the Team Lowes Racing program as an effective way to raise awareness of their products. This expansion of our relationship with Hendrick Motorsports gives our vendor partners exposure for their brand with one of the most respected and successful organizations in motorsports while giving the most loyal fans in all of sports, our customers and employees an additional championship-caliber team to root for at the track.
The move combines Kyle, who signed with Hendrick Motorsports in February 2003, with a team that won the 2003 Busch Series championship with driver Brian Vickers. Brian moves to the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series in 2004. This team is very close to my heart, so Im excited that Lowes and its vendor partners are enthusiastic about joining us in the Busch Series, said Ricky Hendrick, team owner. They have been an integral part of Hendrick Motorsports success over the past few years and we look forward to continuing that in 2004. Kyle, 18, posted two runner-up finishes and five top-10 qualifying efforts in seven Busch Series starts last season. The Las Vegas native also earned two victories and three pole positions in ARCA Series competition. As a young driver, I just couldnt ask for a better situation, said Kyle. With a sponsor like Lowes and the resources at Hendrick Motorsports behind me, I know this is a special opportunity to learn and develop on and off the race track. Lance McGrew, the 2003 Busch Series championship crew chief, returns to lead the team in its third season. Im looking forward to the upcoming season for a lot of reasons, said Lance. We have a talented young driver in Kyle Busch and a great sponsorship program with Lowes and their vendors. It should be another fun year for us.(Team Lowe’s Racing PR)(1-9-2004)
