Warner Bros. Consumer Products, Chevrolet and Action Performance Announce
Monte Carlo 400 With The Looney Tunes – The Rematch!
At Richmond International Raceway

Partners Including America Online, NASCAR, NASCAR.com, TNT and Warner Bros. Online Get Set to Support Program

Charlotte, NC, May 23, 2002 – Ladies and Gentleman, start your engines! Warner Bros. Consumer Products, Chevrolet, Richmond International Raceway and Action Performance Companies, Inc. announced today that the legendary Looney Tunes characters will return to the world of NASCAR Winston Cup September 7th, 2002, when they re-unite in the fast lane with their Team Monte Carlo drivers for the ultimate racing showdown, the Monte Carlo 400 With The Looney Tunes – The Rematch! at Richmond International Raceway in Virginia.

The announcement, which was made at a special event this afternoon in Charlotte, NC (the site of this weekend’s NASCAR race), kicked off Food Lion Speed Street festivities and featured NASCAR drivers Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Green, Terry Labonte, Jimmie Johnson, Mike Skinner, Joe Nemechek and Bobby Hamilton, as well as Warner Bros.’ beloved Looney Tunes characters.

Today’s event unveiled five of the nine stunning Looney Tunes-branded Chevrolet Monte Carlos, in addition to the event pace car, which will be part of the Richmond race this September. Each car has a unique design capturing the spirit of each driver and their Looney Tunes character teammate in bold paint schemes.

Building on the success of last year’s event, the program will expand in 2002 as nine Looney Tunes-themed Monte Carlos take to the track. Additionally, this year’s program expands to include two Looney Tunes-themed cars going head-to-head in the NASCAR Busch Series race on Friday, September 6th.

The irreverent Looney Tunes characters first partnered with NASCAR at Richmond International Raceway in 2001, when seven NASCAR teams “swapped paint” and featured Looney Tunes graphics on their Chevrolet Monte Carlos. Super star drivers such as Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick thrilled fans on the track and off. Gordon took the pole position in the Bugs Bunny-emblazoned car and Harvick bumped and grinded his Taz-themed car into a second place finish.

Not taking a trip to the winner’s circle during the 2001 race was tough for perennial winners Bugs Bunny and Jeff Gordon. This year, Bugs and the rest of his Looney Tunes pals are taking off the gloves, rolling up their sleeves, and tapping into their portfolio of ACME devices to take the ultimate prize. And this time, no more “mister nice guys.” It’s all or nothing in 2002 when each character returns to the track with their distinguished counterpart to claim their long-awaited victory in one of the most exciting promotional experiences in NASCAR history.

For this year’s Winston Cup race, some of NASCAR’s best drivers will once again team up with legendary Looney Tunes characters. The participating drivers and their respective Looney Tunes partners for the Monte Carlo 400 With The Looney Tunes – The Rematch! include:

Saturday, September 7, 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Race

#24-Jeff Gordon, Bugs Bunny
#29-Kevin Harvick, Tasmanian Devil
#30-Jeff Green, Daffy Duck
#55-Bobby Hamilton, Marvin The Martian and K9
#31-Robby Gordon, Pepe Le Pew
#4-Mike Skinner, Yosemite Sam
#5-Terry Labonte, Road Runner
#48-Jimmie Johnson, Tweety & Sylvester
#25-Joe Nemechek, Speedy Gonzales

Friday, September 6, 2002 NASCAR Busch Race

#8-Dale Earnhardt Jr., Gossamer/Bugs Bunny
#12-Kerry Earnhardt, Yosemite Same

What were the schemes last year [2001] at Richmond?
#1-Steve Park, Sylvester and Tweety
#5-Terry Labonte, Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner
#24-Jeff Gordon, Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd
#29-Kevin Harvick, Tasmanian Devil (Taz)
#30-Jeff Green, Daffy Duck
#31-Mike Skinner, Yosemite Sam
#55-Bobby Hamilton, Marvin the Martian and his space dog, K-9
Also this year, the irreverence of the Looney Tunes will extend into the NASCAR Busch
Series as two Looney Tunes-branded cars take to the track during the Friday night race. The drivers and characters teaming up to compete in the Busch Series race will be announced at a later date. [But am told Dale Earnhardt Jr will have a black scheme of some type with the Tasmanian Devil featured].

“Without question, this exciting program and all the related promotions are for the benefit of the fans,” said Jim Campbell, Monte Carlo Marketing Director. “Without the fans, none of this would be possible. It’s our way of showing our appreciation for the fans’ unwavering support and enthusiasm for this great sport.”

Expected to be the biggest race-related NASCAR promotion ever, this year’s program will be fully supported by a comprehensive national promotional campaign including participation from the following key partners; Warner Bros. Consumer Products, Chevrolet, Action Performance, America Online, NASCAR, Warner Bros. Online, NASCAR.com, TNT and Richmond International Raceway.

Elements of the program will include a national sweepstakes, television, print and broadcast campaigns, online and radio promotions, on-site exposure and initiatives, point-of-purchase displays and much more.

“Warner Bros. Consumer Products, Chevrolet and Action Performance are teaming up once again to bring NASCAR fans around the country the biggest and best race event of the season,” said Jordan Sollitto, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Marketing for Warner Bros. Consumer Products. “Like their NASCAR driver counterparts, Bugs Bunny, Taz, Daffy Duck and the rest of the Looney Tunes crew are full of personality and competitive spirit. Everyone will be a winner — especially the fans.”

A key element of this integrated marketing promotion is the partnership with Action Performance, which will provide ample opportunity for NASCAR fans to show support for their favorite drivers through an array of Looney Tunes-branded collectible merchandise.

“The Looney Tunes and their NASCAR driver sidekicks have anticipated this rematch for the past year and Action Performance is thrilled to be part of this great program,” said Fred Wagenhals, President, Chairman, and CEO of Action Performance. “With some of NASCAR’s top drivers participating in the program, the Monte Carlo 400 With The Looney Tunes – The Rematch! is sure to be one of the most exciting events of the season.”

Doug Fritz, President of Richmond International Raceway added: “We are excited that the Looney Tunes characters are returning to Richmond International Raceway for the second consecutive year and are expanding their involvement in our race weekend activities. Hosting the world’s most famous characters reinforces our family philosophy and makes our NASCAR weekend ‘Under the Lights’ even more prestigious.”

LOONEY TUNES, characters, names and all related indicia are trademarks of and © Warner Bros.

• Earnhardt’s and Looney Tunes: A new chapter of Looney Tunes lore will be written as Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his brother Kerry Earnhardt square off at the BGN race on Friday, September 6th, at Richmond. The Earnhardt brothers, through a partnership between Warner Bros. Consumer Products, Chevrolet, and Action Performance Companies, Inc., will both race Looney Tunes-themed Chevrolet Monte Carlos in what is sure to be an animated showdown. The #8 Chevrolet of Dale Earnhardt Jr. will feature Gossamer [a Jayski favorite!], the orange-haired, lovable Looney Tunes monster, and an assortment of other Looney Tunes characters. Yosemite Sam will grace Kerry Earnhardt’s #12 Chevy. The race in Richmond will mark just the third BGN start in 2002 for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Currently, Kerry Earnhardt is midway through his rookie season in the BGN. The Friday night Busch Series race precedes the Saturday, September 7th Winston Cup event, the Monte Carlo 400 with the Looney Tunes — The Rematch!, which will feature nine Looney-Tunes themed cars driven by some of NASCAR’s finest drivers. The Busch Series race featuring the Earnhardt brothers is an expansion of last year’s successful Looney Tunes program and will serve as the opening act for the main event — the next evening’s NASCAR Winston Cup race at Richmond, the Monte Carlo 400 with the Looney Tunes — The Rematch!(Business Wire)(7-30-2002)
• Little E not totally Taz at Richmond IMAGE…AND: a month or so ago it was reported that Dale Earnhardt Jr would run a Tasmanian Devil scheme in the BGN race at Richmond in Sept, told it is partially true and that the Orange Monster – Gossamer [a Jayski fave] will also be on the car [hood] along with Bugs Bunny [decklid], with the colors being orange/white/black.(6-7-2002)
  IMAGE: see an image of the #8 (yes #8 JR Motorsports) Gossamer/Bugs car below.(6-8-2002)
  AND Word is that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is looking to own a BGN team with him as driver for selected races, possibly by next year. Another driver would take over the wheel for the rest of the schedule. Sponsorship is allegedly in place. The hold-up could be where to house the team. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. has already maxed out space at the Mooresville shop. Earnhardt Jr. already is listed as owner of a Street Stock that T.J. Majors will drive at Concord Motorsports Park.(NASCAR.com), sources tell me that Nabisco (no real surprise) will be the sponsor for some of all the races.(6-11-2002)
• Kerry Earnhardt to run Looney Tunes at RIR: with his brother Dale Jr and will supposedly drive a driving the black/yellow/gray #12 Yosemite Sam Chevy in the Richmond BGN race.(6-7-2002)
  IMAGE: see an image of the #12 Jani King/Yosmite Sam Chevy scheme below.(6-8-2002)
• Looney Toons and Taz to return? UPDATE 3: #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr will run a #3 Taz scheme at Richmond in the BGN race and that there is a chance the Looney Toons schemes may return at the Richmond Cup race.(5-10-2002)
  UPDATE: The Sports Business Journal reports that Chevy is set to reprise the promotion that put Looney Tunes characters on seven NASCAR Winston Cup cars last season.(5-14-2002)
  UPDATE 2: Chevrolet is set to reprise the promotion that put Looney Tunes characters on seven NASCAR Winston Cup cars last season, this time expanding it to include 11 cars in a one-race blast tied to the automaker’s itle sponsorship of the Sept. 7 Chevy Monte Carlo 400 in Richmond. The promotion, titled “Looney Tunes, The Rematch” and scheduled for announcement this week, will tie together all but one of the 12 Monte Carlos that run in the series, with sponsors of those cars sharing space with Looney Tunes characters including Bugs Bunny, Taz, Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote and Daffy Duck. The program will extend to support races at the track, with characters also placed on two entries in both the CTS and BGN events run on Thursday night and Friday night, respectively. Looney Tunes characters will cover about one-fourth of the 43-car field, appearing in tandem with the following driver/character/sponsor combinations: Jeff Gordon, Bugs Bunny, DuPont; Mike Skinner, Yosemite Sam, Kodak; Kevin Harvick, Tazmanian Devil, GM Goodwrench; Jeff Green, Daffy Duck, America Online; Robbie Gordon, Pepe Le Pew, Cingular Wireless; and Bobby Hamilton, Marvin the Martian, Square D. The program also will include Michael Waltrip (Napa Auto Parts), Steve Park (Pennzoil), Jimmy Johnson (Lowe’s Home Improvement), Terry Labonte (Kellogg’s) and an as yet undetermined driver of the #25 car sponsored by UAW-Delphi. Details of those entries still are being negotiated. One notable exception: Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be left out of the equation because his car is sponsored by Budweiser. Warner Bros. did not want its characters connected to a beer.(Sports Business Journal – need sub to read)(5-15-2002)
  UPDATE 4 an image: see an image of the #24 Bugs Bunny car on my 2002 Cup Scheme page, have heard the #55 will run the Marvin the Martian again.(5-16-2002)

The special Looney Tunes Event Car.

Thanks to www.AutoRacing1.com for the images

Thanks to www.AutoRacing1.com for the images